One Family
by IWillWaitForYou
Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together? Is it the same thing that could tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1: My Little Girl

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: This is a storyline I've been playing around with for awhile. I wanted to write something like this for years and I attempted to, several times. I tried using Emmett and Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, even Carlisle and Esme because honestly, I used to hate Bella but then, I said oh why not and tried writing the storyline with Bella and Edward and couldn't stop. Like thank God it's Christmas break and I have time to write because I literally can't stop. So here you go, chapter one of what I hope will be a long and amazing story. I have chapter two ready but I'm trying this thing where I only post a new chapter after the next one is completely done so we'll see if that works out. Without further ado, here you go.**

Chapter 1: My Little Girl

I listened with a smile on my face as my six year old rambled on and on about everything she wanted Santa to bring her for Christmas this year. She and my eight year old little one would be flying from their home with their mother in Chicago to where I lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, roughly 840 miles away in three days, the day they got out of school for Christmas break. My divorce agreement with my former wife Chelsea was simple. She kept the girls during the school year but I got them on all their breaks, for summer vacation, fall break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and Easter. We had decided that the best thing for the girls would be to stay with their mother so they wouldn't have to switch schools, so as much as I hated it, I only saw them when they weren't in school.

"Daddy, you want to know what I want very most for Christmas?" Leighton asked happily.

"What do you want very most for Christmas?" I asked my little one.

"I want to go to Disney World and meet Minnie and Mickey and all the princesses." She told me happily.

I smiled to myself, Leighton and Emery had both been asking to go to Disney for over two years now and Carlisle and Esme had decided to grant their grandchildren's wishes and planned a trip for the whole family this summer.

"We'll see princess." I told her not wanting to give anything away.

"I wish you could be here tonight Daddy, to see me in the Christmas play." Leighton sighed.

"I know princess but your Mommy is going to record it so I can watch it." I told her.

"Emery wants to talk to you." Leighton told me. "I love you Daddy, I'll call you tomorrow."

"I love you to princess; I'll be looking forward to it." I told my little one.

There was a brief pause before I heard the pone rustle a little. "Daddy?" She asked.

"Hey pumpkin." I smiled.

"Daddy I don't want to do the play but Mommy says I have to because I made a commitment." She told me sadly.

"Why don't you want to do it sweetheart? You were so excited about it just a few days ago." I asked my nervous little one.

"I keep forgetting my lines and I'm afraid people will laugh at me." My daughter admitted.

"You'll be fine pumpkin, you'll do great tonight. You'll be the best head elf in the history of elves." I told her.

"Do you really think so Daddy?" She asked.

"Of course pumpkin." I smiled.

"I have to go now Daddy, Mommy says it's time to leave." Emery told me.

"Okay pumpkin, I love you. Do great tonight out there." I told my little one.

"Okay Daddy, I love you too. I'll talk to you later." She told me.

With that the phone hung up and I went back to what I had previously been doing, reading through new surgical techniques. I worked as a pediatric surgeon at New Canaan Children's Hospital but was also one of the physicians in my father's practice, Cullen Children's Clinic. We had physicians from all types of pediatric specialties. My father, who of course was one of the doctors that started the practice, is one of the best pediatric cardiologists in Connecticut. My uncle, Eleazar, was the other doctor that started it as well, Dad's brother. He is one of the best pediatric neurologists in the country. They wanted to work together but no practices in New Canaan had more than one specialty so they started their own. Now, there are thirteen of us in the practice. Dad, who gives us a cardiologist, Uncle Eleazar, who gives us a neurologist, my brother Emmett, who gives us non-operative sports medicine, my sister-in-law Rosalie who gives us a general pediatrician, my brother-in-law Jasper, who gives us an orthopedic surgeon, me, my cousins Tanya and Irina who give us two more general pediatricians, my cousin Kate and her husband Garrett, a pulmonologist and an oncologist, Mike Newton, another pediatric surgeon, Angela Cheney, a gastroenterologist, and Jacob Black, a endocrinologist. We're currently searching for a fourteenth and a fifteenth, a pediatric psychiatrist and a rheumatologist, but we've yet to find someone for either specialty that we all agree on and though Dad and Uncle Eleazar have the final say so in who is hired or fired, they like all of our inputs.

The younger ones of us, everyone besides Dad and Uncle Eleazar had a lot to live up to in the future. Carlisle and Eleazar had built this place out of nothing; they had started just the two of them and grown substantially. The original specialist had all retired and now we had replaced them. They had been amazing physicians and we all had big shoes to fill which so far, we had.

At 5:40, I put away my laptop and got a coat and some shoes on. Today was Tuesday, family dinner night at my parents, or occasionally at Uncle Eleazar and Aunt Carmen's, but tonight's was at my parents' house. So I made the drive from my home to theirs and arrived just before 6:00. I parked my SUV behind Rosalie's BMW which was behind Alice's Porsche. Uncle Eleazar, Tanya, Irina, and Garrett had all managed to get their cars in the driveway and there was probably room for the other three cars as well but there was an unspoken rule that no one blocked anyone in at family dinner in case someone needed to leave.

As I parked my car I smiled at the sight my eyes landed on. My nephews were playing in the snow in the front yard. Logan and Lucas, Emmett's nine year old twin boys, were throwing snowballs at each other, Oliver, Alice's four year old son stood by attempting to make snow angels nearby. My girls were the only girls in the family but when they were here they weren't afraid to play in the mud or play some football with their cousins.

"Uncle Edward, catch!" Logan yelled as I walked up and suddenly had to grab a snowball to stop it from hitting me in the face.

"Better be careful Logan, Santa's watching." I cautioned.

His bright blue eyes, Emmett's eyes, got wide as he looked at me. "Sorry Uncle Edward." He gasped.

I chuckled. "That's alright buddy." I told him as I fixed his toboggan which was falling off his head.

I made my way inside the house and to the living room where the guys sat watching National Lampoon's Christmas.

"Edward, are the boys still intact?" My uncle asked as I plopped on the couch.

I smiled. "So far so good."

"Have you spoken to the girls lately?" My father asked, his lips curling slightly. He couldn't help but smile when he talked of his granddaughters. In his eyes they were the greatest things that had ever happened and they always would be.

"Just did actually. Their Christmas play is tonight, Emery is a little nervous but Leighton is ecstatic." I smiled.

"I can't wait to see the squirts, just three days." Emmett smiled.

"You just can't wait to play football with Emery." Jasper chuckled.

"What can I say, she's my first pick for the family football game with the distant cousins because she can throw the longest and run the fastest." Emmett shrugged.

"Better not let Logan and Lucas hear you talk like that." Garrett laughed.

"Logan's throw is getting better, he'll make a good quarterback eventually but I think Lucas is going to have to stick to baseball." Emmett told me. "But Emery, Emery's got a gift. I mean she's a year younger than my boys and has never played football for real but is a lot better. You should tell Chelsea to get Emery on a team."

"That's never going to happen." I disagreed. "I don't want little boys tackling my little girl all the time."

"I guess soccer is going to have to do." Emmett sighed.

My little Emery really was quite the athlete. She excelled at any and every sport she ever played, her favorite being soccer though. Leighton was a little different when it came to sports, she liked the girly stuff like gymnastics, cheerleading, and ballet.

"Emmett, Jasper, go get the kids for dinner!" My mother called from the kitchen.

My brother and brother-in-law both got up off the couch and made their way to the foyer while the rest of us made our way to various bathrooms to wash our hands and then made our way to the dining room where everyone took their seats, Carlisle blessed the food, and we all began eating the casserole my mother had prepared.

Laurent and Irina were happily whispering to each other the way engaged couples did, smiling as they sipped on their wine. I hadn't been so sure about Laurent at first. I had done my residency with him when we were younger and he had the reputation for being quite the player but he had settled down, once he got his career as a trauma surgeon underway, and he made my cousin happy. Tanya was the only of my cousins that had not found her "soul mate" which meant we were the only two singles at the table. I think she secretly has a little fling with Seth Clearwater, a guy she was in school with that works as an investment banker in New York but she denies it.

Everyone was having their own conversations. My mother and aunt were talking about all the plans we had for Christmas, my father, uncle, Emmett, Garrett, and Jasper were talking about the ski trip we had planned for New Year's, and the ladies at the table were discussing everything they could think of, from nails to clothes to shopping. I was partially involved with the conversation about skiing but mostly thinking about my own plans with my daughters. I knew that Leighton would beg to go into the city to ice skate while Emery would want to go see the New York Red Bulls play. I knew that both girls would want to go shopping in the city, Leighton for clothes and toys, Emery for soccer balls and Harry Potter things. I planned to let my girls do everything they could dream of during the holidays because they deserved it.

My phone began ringing and I sighed. I assumed it was the hospital needing a pediatric surgeon so I excused myself and headed to the quiet kitchen to answer. The number wasn't a local number though, it was a Chicago number.

"Dr. Cullen." I answered.

"Is this Edward Cullen?" A woman asked.

"This is he, yes." I told her.

"I'm Emily Uley, a nurse at Chicago Memorial Hospital. I'm sorry to tell you this over the phone but sir, there's been an accident." She told me.

As soon as those words left her mouth I felt like my whole world was crashing down. I didn't even know what kind of accident or the extent of the injuries my girls had suffered but I knew for the hospital to be calling me something serious must have happened to my little girls.

"Are my daughters okay?" Was all I managed to get out of my house as the lump in my throat began to grow.

"They're both in surgery, I'm sorry we couldn't wait for your consent but the girls were both in critical condition when they arrived. Their mother, I'm so sorry sir but your wife didn't make it." She told me.

"She's actually my ex-wife." I corrected. "Oh God, she's dead?" I asked after the news hit me.

"We tried our very best to resuscitate her but the damage her brain and heart took were just too extensive." She told me. "How fast can you get here sir?"

"I'm in Connecticut, the drive will take 12 hours but I'm going to look into flights to try and get there quicker." I told her. "Oh God, what's happened to my daughters? I'm a doctor just tell me please."

"The older one, Emery, she was sitting in the front seat and the airbag just crushed her small body. It broke four of her ribs, two on each side, and her sternum. It broke her right collarbone and elbow, and it also broke her nose and eye socket. The ribs punctured her left lung and her spleen which the doctors are going to do their best to repair but the spleen may need to be removed. The younger one, Leighton was sitting behind the driver's seat which is the side the car was hit on. It broke her left arm, left elbow, left femur, left leg, one of her ribs on her left side, but the worst of her injuries is a small bleed in her brain but our neurosurgeon is confident that a few burr holes will fix that and she won't need to be opened up." The nurse told me. "You've got some tough little girls Dr. Cullen, I'll watch over them until you get here."

"Thank you, I'm on my way." I told her.


	2. Chapter 2: Paradise

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: Thank you all for my awesome reviews! I'm currently working on chapter 5 which is going great if I do say so myself. Keep the reviews coming and I'll keep the chapters coming. I don't promise daily updates, especially not now because I have like a billion family members running around my house and they will be until the day after Christmas but I do promise to write as much as I can find time to. So review, favorite, follow, anything and tell your friends! Haha, anyway here's chapter 2!**

Chapter 2: Paradise

I couldn't make coherent thoughts let alone coherent words as I made my way back to the dining room to tell my family what had happened. My mother took one look at me and sent her three grandchildren to finish their dinner in the living room, telling them they could watch television if they wished.

"Edward, sweetheart what's happened?" My mother asked me as she stood up and wrapped one of her arms around me.

"There was an accident, the girls are in surgery and Chelsea didn't make it." I told her as tears rolled down my cheeks. "I need to go; I have to get to Chicago."

"I'll look into flights right now." Alice told me as she pulled out her phone.

"You're in no state to drive." My father shook his head. "Did they say…do you know what happened?"

"They got hit on the driver's side, the side Leighton sits on. She has mostly just broken bones but she's got a brain bleed. Emery is worse. Chelsea let her sit up front like I told her not to over and over again because she's so small but she didn't listen. The airbag crushed her body, they might have to remove her spleen and they're operating to try and fix her punctured lung." I told him. As more tears ran down my cheeks.

"There's a nonstop flight from New York to Chicago in two hours. If you leave within forty five minutes you can catch it. I can get three tickets. It'll get you to Chicago in four hours, quicker than you could drive." Alice told me.

"Order them dear." My father told her as he tossed her his credit card. "I'll go get a bag packed."

"You usually keep an overnight bag in your car don't you Edward?" Rosalie asked me. I nodded. "I'll go get it, give me your keys." She said.

"I'll take your car home." Garrett offered.

"We'll drive you to the airport." Aunt Carmen told me.

In just fifteen minutes, I found myself sitting in the backseat of my uncle's car with my mother to my left, my father on her other side. All of our luggage was in the trunk and Uncle Eleazar was driving as quickly as he could into the city.

We arrived at the airport just twenty minutes before our flight was set to leave. We got our luggage checked in and made it to the right gate just as our plane was being boarded and the stewardess told us that we had been upgraded to first class and showed us to our seats. My mother took my hand in hers and squeezed it. "They're going to be alright sweetheart, they're tough little girls." She whispered.

I nodded and stared out the window at the city lights of New York as we took off. In just a little under two and a half hours I'd be with my little girls and I would be able to believe what my mother was telling me.

We landed in Chicago at 10:30 and my mother went ahead and got a cab with me while my father offered to get all the luggage and rent a car. My heart was pounding out of my chest as we pulled up to the hospital and my mother and I got out and quickly made our way to the front desk.

"My daughters were in an accident." I told one of the nurses.

"Dr. Cullen?" A familiar voice asked from another seat at the desk.

"Emily." I said as recognition hit me.

"Come with me." She told me.

My mother and I followed her to a waiting room where she told us to sit down. "Leighton is out of surgery, I'll go find her surgeon to speak with you. Emery should be done in about half an hour." She told us.

"They were supposed to be the head elf and a snowflake in the Christmas play today but now…oh God." I mumbled.

"I know sweetheart, it's going to be alright." My mother told me as she began rubbing my back as I put my head in my hands.

"Dr. Cullen, this is my husband Sam and also the neurosurgeon that operated on Leighton." Emily told me.

"How is she?" I asked.

"She's going to be alright. She had a minor brain bleed but the burr holes did what they needed to do and I don't think any further intervention will be necessary. She was taken immediately to the Children's Surgical ICU and as soon as she wakes up you'll be able to see her. If I had to guess with the amount of anesthesia she was under I'd say she'll sleep through the night and be up early tomorrow morning. You have a very lucky little girl Dr. Cullen; usually kids like this are much worse." He told me. "The orthopedic surgeon that operated on your daughter was called in on another case but as soon as he can he'll come and speak with you about the extent of those injuries."

"Is there any way I could see her before she wakes up? I know that usually that is out of the question but please, I need to make sure she's alright." I practically begged.

"I'll see what I can do." He promised.

"Thank you." I told him.

He offered a small smile before he left the room. Emily stayed with us though. "I got an update on Emery for you." She told us. "They were able to repair the spleen, it is not going to have to come out, and they're just finishing up on the lung. The plastic surgeon has repaired her nose and her eye socket, the orthopedic surgeon has set and splinted all of her broken bones and will put hard casts on once he's confident the swelling has gone down. She should be out of surgery soon and waking up soon after she's in the ICU. They're going to put her in the bed beside Leighton's to make it easier on you."

"Thank you Emily." I told her.

"I'll come and get you as soon as Sam convinces the charge nurse to let you see Leighton." She assured me.

By the time Emily did return, I had already spoken with a police officer learning that the car that had hit my former wife's was an SUV driven by a teenager with seven other teens piled in. Their car had hit an icy patch so even though the teen had been trying to stop, the car kept going which is when they collided with Chelsea's smaller car. I had been told the driver and the teen in the passenger seat had died on impact, one other teen died while on their way to the hospital in an ambulance, two others had died in surgery, two others were in critical condition, and only one had come out with minor injuries. In one night, six lives had been lost and four more still could be lost.

I wasn't angry with the teenagers exactly, they were kids, not experienced enough to know what to do. I was angrier with their parents, for allowing their children to get into a car late at night on icy roads. I resented the parents of the kids for ruining so many young lives, for taking away so many bright futures, for hurting my angels.

Emily led my parents and I through the hospital to the Pediatric Surgical ICU. She took us to the section with beds where I saw two teens occupying two of the beds, and my little girls occupying two others. The rest of the beds were empty. I couldn't help but wonder if those teens were from the accident. One seemed much too young to be riding around with teens, he looked to be maybe eleven, potentially twelve but he was so small I thought eleven was the best guess. The other teen I thought was more likely to be from the accident. She looked around sixteen or seventeen, both of the other two kids were covered in bruises.

My eyes tore off the other two kids and looked towards my own. I think part of why my eyes weren't on my children from the very start was because I was afraid of what I'd see, and for good reason. Little Leighton's head was all bandaged up, various limbs on her left side were splinted and elevated, a tube down her throat so she could breathe. The large hospital bed made my tiny six year old look even tinier. The lump in my throat that had never fully left grew even more. I forced my eyes over to the bed where Emery was. She looked even worse than Leighton. Her face was covered in bruises, various limbs elevated like her sister, and her left side was exposed showing the chest tube that was helping her breathe. She too was intubated, probably more for precaution than anything else seeing as she was set to wake up soon but she was still intubated. Suddenly my strong roughhousing little girl looked so very fragile that I was sure if I touched her I could break her. It reminded me of how I felt when she was just a newborn. I was a doctor back then too but I was still terrified of breaking her like I am now.

"Oh my God." I finally mumbled. I had no idea which child to go to either. I didn't want to choose but I settled on Emery seeing as she was set to wake up first and I wanted her to be able to see me when she did.

Mom took a seat by Leighton and took her hand that wasn't crushed in hers and kissed it. I rubbed Emery's good arm with my hand and kissed her bruised little forehead as tears welled in my eyes. Dad stood between the two beds, his eyes moving between his granddaughters, filling with some tears for the first time today, the reality of what happened finally sinking in.

It was eerily quiet for a few moments before some chaos in the hallway finally disturbed the peace.

"Dr. Swan you can't go in there right now." I heard a nurse say in the hallway.

"He's my little boy; I'm going to see him!" I heard a woman yell back. "I'm a doctor at this hospital, you cannot tell me I suddenly don't have access to the Pediatric Surgical ICU."

"He's not going to wake up at least until morning, he needs rest Dr. Swan." I heard a nurse argue.

I heard one of the heart monitors begin picking up in the room and glanced to my daughter's, both of which were steady and not beeping. The smaller of the teens was the culprit and I watched as suddenly he began choking and grabbing for his intubation tube.

My father moved over to the little boy and began trying to calm him. I figured it was my Dad trying to help someone sense there wasn't much he could do for his granddaughters.

"Relax, breathe through your nose. The tube is helping you breathe just relax." I heard Dad tell the child.

Soon the doors to the ICU were flying open and a strikingly beautiful woman with dark brown hair and big chocolate brown eyes was barging in, a nurse quick behind her. "Colton." She mumbled as she basically ran over to him. "Oh baby, I was so worried."

"I'll get someone to come remove the intubation tube." The nurse mumbled.

Dad shook his head. "I've been a pediatric cardiologist for roughly thirty five years, I think I can manage."

I watched as my father removed the intubation tube and then left the mother and her child alone as he came back over to us.

"Momma." I heard the little boy choke.

I felt like being able to hear the conversation was an intrusion on the family's privacy but couldn't help but hear seeing as it was the only sound in the room.

"Colton, baby, I love you so much sweetheart. I'm so sorry, I should've never sent our neighbor to get you from basketball practice. I didn't know she was going to get all of her friends and…" the mother trailed off. "I'm so sorry baby." She choked.

"Momma its okay, Victoria wasn't even driving, it was her boyfriend James. He tried to stop Momma, he did you could hear the brakes and everything but the car kept going and then…" The boy trailed off.

"Oh sweetheart." The Mother sighed.

My attention drifted towards my daughter as I felt her arm move and glanced down to see her grab the intubation tube like Colton had and start choking.

"Shh, baby, relax. Pumpkin just relax okay?" I told her.

A nurse and a doctor came rushing in and quickly got the tube out of her throat. "Daddy, it hurts!" She yelled. "Make it stop Daddy please." Emery began.

I felt tears roll down my cheeks as my daughter pleaded with me to take her pain away. I felt helpless. Usually when my girls were sick or hurt I could fix them but I couldn't this time. This pain wasn't fixable because it was a healing pain. The doctor injected what he told me was morphine into her IV line and soon enough Emery was relaxing.

"Pumpkin, Daddy loves you so much." I told her.

"What happened Daddy?" She asked. "All I remember was heading to the Christmas play. Oh no Daddy, I'm late."

"Sweetheart, you, Mommy, and Leighton were in a car accident. You can't go to the play right now sweetheart, you're pretty injured." I told her.

"Where's Leighton Daddy? Where's Mommy?" She asked.

"Leighton is still sleeping in the bed beside you. Grandma is with her holding her hand. Don't try and move your heard to see her, you're going to be really sore." I told her.

"Where's Mommy?" She asked again.

I felt tears begin to overcome me. How was I supposed to tell my little girl her mommy was dead? They don't teach you this before becoming a father, they don't even teach you this in medical school because losing a parent is something no one ever believes can happen until it does and now that it did happen I have no idea what to do.


	3. Chapter 3: Fix You

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: So this chapter was hard to write simply because it is hard to think about death in the eyes of the child. I tried to remember back when I was a young kid and lost an aunt but that didn't work. The previous chapter, when Emery finds out, her reaction is similar to how I reacted when my mom died though I do have to say, Emery will heal a lot quicker than I did. Thank you again for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. You wonderful readers are amazing! In order to get my chapters up to the point I want them on Christmas Day, today you guys get two chapters so here's an early Christmas gift.**

Chapter 3: Fix You

"Where's Mommy?" She asked again looking at me.

I knew with the medication she was on she might not even remember later if I told her now but she wanted to know, she needed to know. I sighed and squeezed her hand in mine.

"Emery, sweetheart, Mommy was hurt very badly. The doctors tried to save her sweetheart, they tried so hard but Mommy was too hurt. I'm so sorry Emery baby but Mommy didn't make it, Mommy had to go the Heaven." I told her as tears rolled down my cheeks again.

Emery was quiet for a few seconds, staring at me with the hazel eyes she had inherited from her mother that occasionally turned blue. They were the most extraordinary eyes I had ever seen but right now they were filled with too much pain for a child. They were difficult to look into.

"No she's not." My little one said matter-of-factly. "No, she isn't dead because she had just promised us she was going to get us hot chocolate after the play. She isn't dead Daddy, where is she?"

"Sweetheart, I know it's hard to believe but Mommy had to go to heaven." I told her.

"No she isn't Daddy! Why do you keep saying that?" She snapped.

"Baby please." I sighed.

"No! Leave me alone!" She yelled.

My father made his way over to us and sat on the bed beside his granddaughter and ran his hand through her beautiful caramel brown hair. "Sweetheart." He mumbled.

"Grandpa, tell Daddy he's wrong. Mommy's just somewhere else right? She's in another room or something right? Grandpa please tell Daddy he's wrong." She whimpered.

"I can't baby, I'm so sorry but your Daddy isn't lying." He mumbled.

"But what about the hot chocolate? What about opening our Christmas presents from Mommy tomorrow before we left to come see Daddy? Grandpa, Mommy can't be in Heaven." She whimpered. "Ouch." She cried.

"What is it baby?" I asked.

"It hurts to cry." She began sobbing.

I sighed and did everything I could think of to try and comfort her but she was just upsetting herself even more so the doctor on her case came and sedated her. He was afraid she'd hurt herself if she kept sobbing. As soon as she was asleep I threw myself up out of the chair and stormed out of the ICU. I needed to get away for a moment; I needed to be able to be angry.

I made my way to the small outdoor courtyard where parents and other visitors were allowed and plopped down on a snow covered bench and looked up as snow fell from the sky. Then I cried, tears of anger and worry, I just cried. For the first time in a very long time, I broke down.

I heard the door open near me and quickly wiped my eyes. "You needed to get away too?" A slightly familiar voice asked.

I looked up and saw the dark haired beauty from earlier, the little boy's mother. "I just needed a moment." I told her.

"Mind if I sit?" She asked.

I shook my head. "Go ahead."

"You know, I was with a patient at my practice when the officer showed up to tell me my son was hurt. I had to stay late because a patient needed me so I asked our next door neighbor's daughter to pick up my son from his basketball practice. She had driven him before, picked him up from school, watched him for me. I didn't know she was going to take six of her friends with her or let her boyfriend drive. I keep telling myself that maybe if I wasn't so caught up in work my son wouldn't be in here, that five teenagers wouldn't be dead. I'm a psychiatrist, I'm the one that convinces people not to blame themselves and here I am blaming myself. I mean I sent a sixteen year old out at night in bad conditions to pick up my eleven year old." She mumbled. "I'm so sorry, about your little girls and about your wife. I overheard you telling her what happened. I ultimately feel responsible for all of this so I'm sorry."

I sighed. I was putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Her son was in the other car; she was the reason the teenagers were driving this late at night on icy roads. She was ultimately responsible for ruining my sweet little girls' lives. I wanted to scream at her, yell at her, tell her she was right to blame herself because this was all her fault but I didn't have it in me to do so. So I just stared at her, into her beautiful chocolate brown eyes which had tears in the corners of them as she stared into my eyes. Neither of us were speaking, I wasn't sure if either of us were breathing.

"I think my little girl is in shock, or denial, or something. Something isn't right and I can't fix it. I can't fix either of my little girls. I can't fix them physically, I can't fix them mentally, I can just stand and feel helpless. I remember when Emery, my oldest, got hit in the head during a soccer game and needed some stitches. I could do that, I could stitch up her little head and hold her and it make her feel better. I fixed her. I remember when my youngest, Leighton was terrified of having to get her tonsils out. I brought her to work with me and explained everything that was going to happen to her and showed her the inside of the different rooms she'd be in. I introduced her to everyone on her team. Suddenly Leighton wasn't scared anymore. I had fixed her too. Now, they are heartbroken because their mother is dead, they're in pain but not in a type of pain I can fix. They're going to be hurting, a healing pain, but still a pain, for weeks at least and there is nothing I can do to fix it. I keep telling myself that if I had been here, if I didn't live all the way in Connecticut, that something would've been different. Something as minor as us leaving a few minutes earlier or later but something would've happened so the accident wouldn't have happened. I feel helpless for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm watching my little girls' lives fall into pieces and I can't hold them in place. I don't even know if I can catch all the pieces and fix it later. I don't know what to do and that scares the hell out of me." I admitted.

It was quiet for another few minutes. Both of us sat side by side, not saying a single word as snow continued to fall until she broke the silence. "So we're both basically filled with guilt." She decided. "Usually I'd assure you that everything was going to be okay and go back to normal but I can't do that because I don't know that for sure and I've messed up your life enough already that I can't risk messing it up anymore by feeding you broken promises."

"You haven't messed up my life, not exactly anyway. I mean, I really want to hate you and yell at you and blame you but I can't. I don't have it in me and I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I see that your life was messed up by all of this too. I feel horrible for feeling almost glad that your son is injured too but...I don't know." I sighed.

"I get it. If some kids crashed into my wife's car and altered everything I would want the kids in the other car to not come out unscathed." She told me.

"Ex-wife." I told her. "Chelsea was my ex, hence why I live twelve hours away."

"Moves can be some of the best things for kids in these situations, getting away, starting fresh." She told me.

"How's your son?" I asked.

"He's fine, punctured lung and a broken rib but he'll be alright." She told me.

Bella and I sat in silence for another ten minutes before I stood up. "I should get back to my girls." I told her.

"I should get back to Colton." The dark haired beauty told me.

"I'm Edward by the way." I informed her.

"Bella." She told me.

The name fit her right, Beautiful Bella. We walked together back to the ICU and went to our respective children. I put a chair between my two girls' beds so I could hold both of their hands. Mom sat on the other side of Leighton's bed, Dad on the other side of Emery's bed. I knew my girls were surrounded by people that loved them and that was enough for now.

Apparently I had dozed off sometime during the night because I felt myself jolting awake to the sound of a heart monitor going haywire. I instantly stood up and moved closer to Leighton who was trying to get her breathing tube out.

"Sweetheart, calm down, Daddy's right here." I told her.

"Daddy what's wrong with Leighton?" Emery cried.

"Shh, baby, she's just not liking the tube." I heard my father hush her.

"I'll go get her nurse." Mom said as she got up and quickly left the ICU.

"Daddy fix her!" Emery squealed.

"Breathe through your nose baby, stop fighting it okay? It's going to come out very soon but I'm not allowed to take it out because I'm your Daddy not your doctor, just relax sweetheart." I comforted Leighton.

One of Leighton's doctors and two nurses hurried in. The doctor quickly took the intubation tube out and began listening to her lungs, checking her pupils, giving her the standard look over.

"Daddy." Leighton choked out.

"I'm right here princess." I promised.

"Daddy, where's Mommy? I want Mommy." She cried.

Not this again, I wasn't ready to have to tell my other little girl that her Mommy didn't make it. "She can't be here right now baby; calm down and I promise I'll tell you everything." I told her.

"Daddy hold me." She cried.

I glanced at her doctor who nodded at me and carefully lifted my broken daughter to me as I sat down on her bed. I cradled her like an infant, careful not to move her in any way that would hurt her worse. She rested her little head on my chest, right over my pounding heart, and instantly began to calm down.

"There, there princes, you're alright. Daddy's got you." I mumbled.

"I'm going to give both of your girls a lighter pain medication today so they aren't as out of it." The doctor told me. "I'll put in the order and a nurse will come in just a little while to administer the medication. As a doctor I'm sure you know this already but many people will be coming in this morning to check on your little girls. There'll be attending, residents, and interns. They round in thirty minutes so it won't be long."

I nodded and rocked my daughter gently. The doctor and the two nurses left, leaving me with my family, and with Bella and her son and another boy. Bella had woken due to Leighton's crying and smiled sadly at me. Her son still snoozed as she ran a hand through his hair and gave me a sympathetic look with her chocolate brown eyes as my little girl asked me again where her mother was.

"Sweetheart, do you remember when Nana got really sick and had to go to Heaven so she wouldn't hurt anymore? And how the doctors tried everything they could to help her but they couldn't save her?" I asked speaking of Chelsea's mother who had died about two years ago.

"Yes but I never got to see her again." She whimpered.

"Right but it was all okay because Nana didn't hurt anymore and got to be with the angels remember?" I asked.

"Yeah and Mommy told me Nana was happier in Heaven." She agreed.

"Well baby, Mommy got really hurt last night which made her really sick like Nana." I explained.

"Did she go to Heaven too Daddy?" She whimpered.

"Yes princess, she went to Heaven like Nana." I admitted.

"I never get to see her again?" She asked as tears filled her beautiful blue-gray eyes.

"No princess." I admitted.

"Mommy's gone?" She asked.

"Yes princess." I sighed.

"But she can't be." She whispered.

"I know baby, I know it's really hard and really sad and I'm so sorry princess." I told her.

"She's really gone isn't she?" Emery asked from her bed.

"Oh sweetheart." Esme sighed as she went to comfort her other granddaughter.

"Daddy." She whimpered.

I wanted to hold both of my little girls, Leighton was the easiest to move without causing pain so I lifted her and with the help of my parents got one girl curled in each arm as I lay between them on Emery's bed. They both cried into my shirt, both mourning the loss of their mother. All I could do was hold them and cry too. My parents both stayed with us the whole time, tried to comfort my daughters, and me, and were slightly successful. By the time my girls had stopped crying, the first group of doctors walked in.

Groups of doctors from all specialties came to check on my girls and told us the same thing. They would be okay but it would take time. We were going to be moved from the Pediatric Surgical ICU to the normal Pediatric ICU where my girls would hopefully only stay for a night, and then we'd be moved to a normal Pediatric room until my girls were well enough to travel home with me.

I convinced my parents to get a hotel room and get some real rest and that I'd be fine with the girls. Mom eventually agreed but promised to be back as soon as Dad would allow it.

So then we were alone, my girls and I, with Bella and her son, and the unnamed teenager. Even Bella told the hospital staff she didn't know him but that it was probably one of her neighbor's sons. So mystery boy, brown eyed beauty, brown eyed beauty's son, pumpkin, princess and I stayed alone in the quiet room together, the only sound being occasional tears from my girls.


	4. Chapter 4: Coffee Shop

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: You guys are amazing! Keep the reviews coming they are music to my ears. I've got a pretty hectic schedule today (ices kating with family members) but I'll try to post a new chapter later tonight (probably around 11:00 or so central time) so be on the lookout.**

Chapter 4: Falling In Love at a Coffee Shop

The sound of children choking on intubation tubes was a sound I was actually slightly familiar with because I was around kids all the time so soon after surgery but hearing mystery boy choke on his intubation tube tugged at my heart strings. He was going to wake up completely alone. His parents still hadn't shown up so he was completely alone. The doctors and nurses came in and checked on him, got the tube out, and asked him his name which he told them was Ryan and that he was fourteen. He told them that his parents were out of the country, in Japan for his father's work but that his older sister was in town and her name was Hannah. A nurse stayed with him, acted as a sit-in-parent while other nurses began making phone calls.

I held my daughters, waiting to be moved to the regular PICU which would happen within the hour. Colton was being moved as well but he'd have to wait a little while longer because his surgeon was in another surgery and couldn't sign off yet. For some reason, hearing that the brown eyed beauty wouldn't be there, even if it was just for a little while, slightly upset me.

I had to let go of my little girls for the first time sense I had picked them up when it was time to be transferred. We moved down a story to the third floor and to a room that held quite a few more occupied beds than the Surgical Pediatric ICU. I assumed this was because kids with pneumonia or bad cases of the flu would be in the PICU, something common around the holidays. Family members sat looking exhausted with their young ones; teens looked irritated as their parents doted over them. It was less lonely than the Surgical PICU but the mood was even less cheerful.

My parents arrived right around dinner time and ordered me to go eat and promised not to leave Leighton or Emery even for a second. I don't think I've ever shoved hospital food down my throat so quickly and I'm sure I set a record for getting back to my daughters but I did it all in only fifteen minutes. I took my seat between my little girls' beds again and took their hands.

I heard what sounded like an army coming towards us, an army that's voices only sounded like my family members, and soon enough Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper walked in. I chuckled, thinking of how all of them but Alice were doctors and knew that hospitals typically remained silent but how they were exceptionally loud on the PICU floor.

As my siblings and their spouses took in the appearance of their only nieces for the first time, the reactions were identical. Hands went over mouths; anger spread in their eyes for a split second, and then all four of them smiled to compose themselves and quickly made their way over to us. My daughters seemed to perk up due to their aunts and uncles and especially because of the gifts they received. Alice brought a stuffed lamb for Leighton and a stuffed elephant for Emery, Rosalie brought a light blue and yellow blanket for Emery and a light blue and pink blanket for Leighton, Emmett had flowers for both girls, and Jasper had brought balloons. It was a freaking family reunion in the middle of the PICU.

During all the chaos, I saw Bella with her son being wheeled into the PICU and then being transferred to the bed beside Leighton's. He appeared to be sleeping and Bella looked a little worried but what adult in this room didn't look a little worried?

Emmett and Jasper perked Emery up talking to her about soccer while Rosalie and Alice talked to Leighton about shopping. Both girls seemed the happiest they had been sense I had arrived. Rosalie told both girls that their cousins wanted to come as well but they had to go to school so the twins had stayed with Uncle Eleazar and Aunt Carmen while Oliver had stayed with Kate and Garrett. Everything was normal, well as normal as things can be when two children are in the PICU, for about twenty minutes before the familiar sound of a flat line ran in my ears.

"Code Blue PICU, Code Blue PICU." I heard the announcement come on.

Conversations throughout the room ceased as everyone made sure their child wasn't the culprit. My girls looked confused but their heart rates were strong. I glanced over and realized who the patient was that was coding. It was Colton.

Nurses and doctors rushed to his bed side and one nurse practically dragged Bella away from her son kicking and screaming.

"Dr. Swan, I know this is upsetting but you have to let the doctors do their jobs. They can't focus with you over their shoulders." The nurse told her.

"That's because you have damn interns trying to save my son. Get me Dr. Gerandy right now, he's the attending, I want him saving my child not a bunch of children." She snapped.

"Dr. Gerandy is not on call Dr. Swan." The nurse tried.

"Then get another damn attending, anyone but interns who don't know a clavicle from a caucus!" She yelled.

"What's going on?" A doctor I recognized as one of the cardiac fellows from earlier rounds asked as he showed up.

"My son is dying and she has children in their trying to save him!" Bella shouted pointing to the curtained area.

The fellow nodded and quickly went into the curtained room and I heard him take an authoritative stand as he addressed the various medical professionals to do specific tasks.

"Daddy, what's happening to that little boy?" Leighton asked me.

"Don't worry princess; the doctors are going to help him." I told her.

"Is he going to Heaven like mommy?" She asked.

The conversation of my family came to a halt as my daughter said those words. "I hope not princess." I told her. "I really hope not." I repeated as my eyes found their way to where Bella sat on the floor leaning against the wall crying.

"Janice, call the OR and tell them we have a cardiac tamponade coming up. Patient is eleven year old Colton Swan, we'll need the OR as soon as possible." The fellow said as he and the other doctors began wheeling the small boy's bed out of the curtained area and towards the PICU door. The fellow stayed back and made his way to Bella as the interns and residents continued wheeling young Colton.

"I swear to God, he was fine and now…I mean we were talking about him going home in two days." Bella cried. "If anything happens I swear to God."

"We're going to do everything we can to save your son Dr. Swan, I promise." The fellow told her.

With that, he took off on a jog after Colton, leaving Bella alone. If it wasn't for my children being awake, and my family standing around, I would go over and try and comfort her but that wasn't an option right in front of everyone.

I watched as Bella angrily picked herself up from the ground and stormed out of the PICU. "Daddy is Colton going to be okay?" Emery asked me nervously.

"Did you know Colton pumpkin?" I asked her.

"We talked when you went to get dinner. He was nice and he told me that Mommy was going to be okay because his Daddy would make sure of it. His Daddy died when he was eight and he said he was really sad but it got better." Emery explained. "So is he going to be okay Daddy?"

"I hope so pumpkin." I mumbled.

"Go check on her." Alice whispered in my ear.

"What?" I whispered back.

"I saw the way you've been looking at her, go check on her. The girls will be fine with us for a little while." My sister told me.

I nodded and glanced at my daughters. "I'm going to go see if Colton's Mommy needs anything."

"Okay Daddy." Leighton said with a small smile as she played a game with Jasper on his phone.

I left the family and made my way back to the small courtyard Bella and I had come to last night. I figured she'd probably return to it and I was right. She sat on the same bench that we sat on last night, crying lightly as snowflakes landed on her.

"We've got to quit meeting like this." I told her as I approached.

She looked up and offered me a weak smile as I sat beside her. "I just don't understand why he can be perfectly fine, close to going home, and then rushing in for heart surgery. I should've noticed, I should've watched him more closely."

"You couldn't have known, even if you had known there's nothing you could've done to prevent it." I assured her.

"If he dies…he's my everything Edward, he's always been my everything. Sense his father died he's been my reason for living, the reason I could get out of bed in the mornings, why I could go sit in an office and listen to kids tell me about their problems, try to make everything better, if he dies Edward I swear to God I don't know what I'll do." She cried.

"Hey, no tears." I told her as I gently placed a hand on her back. "Right now you're thinking worst case scenario, what you need to do is think best case scenario. Wait to worry Bella, worrying will do you no good, not in the slightest."

"Are you sure you're not the shrink?" She laughed.

"I quite enjoyed my psych rotation." I told her. "But no, just a pediatric surgeon."

"You should get back to your daughters." She sighed.

"They're fine with my family." I disagreed.

"It was nice of them all to come." She told me. "Your girls need as big of a support system as they can get."

"What about you? When is your support system coming?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Hopefully never, if my family showed up I'd have Colton transferred to another hospital without their knowledge as quickly as possible."

"Family isn't your favorite thing is it?" I asked.

"I just wasn't given a very good one is all." She shrugged. "Mom left my father with me when I was a baby, fled halfway across the country and remarried. She never really took care of me, I took care of myself. Eventually she shipped me off to live with my father who was no better than she was and as soon as I graduated high school I moved out. I got a job, paid my way through college and then med school and eventually cut all connections with my family. When Colton was born I vowed to never expose him to his grandparents and so far I haven't."

"You've been on your own sense you were eighteen?" I asked.

"Yeah, it was the best decision I ever made." She nodded. "I mean I hate that Colton doesn't have a big family, I do, but it was what was best for him."

"He's lucky to have a mother that's so strong and brave." I told her. "I mean, you're one of the most extraordinary people I've ever met."

My compliment caused her cheeks to blaze red with her blush. I couldn't help but chuckle as her cheeks remained crimson. "Don't laugh at me."

"Your blush is adorable." I admitted.

"Yeah, well I try." She smiled.

"I don't think you have to try to be so darn cute." I smiled.

"Edward you are such a flirt!" She yelled as she playfully hit my arm.

"It comes naturally baby." I winked.

She giggled and shook her head. "How do you do that?" She asked.

"Do what?" I asked curiously.

"Make me forget about the horrible situation my son is in and feel happy again." She explained.

"The same way you cheered me up yesterday." I shrugged.

"Dr. Swan, sorry to interrupt, you can come see your son in recovery now." A nurse told her as she peaked her head out to the small courtyard.

Bella looked at me, probably not knowing what to say. "Go." I told her. "Go be with your son."

"Thank you for this Edward." She told me as she hugged me gently before leaving.

I smiled thinking of my exchange with brown eyed beauty and made my way back to my daughters. Alice wore an accomplished smug little grin as I sat back down and Emmett smirked at me. I rolled my eyes and began listening to my little girls bickering. Things were beginning to go back to normal, at least slightly.


	5. Chapter 5: Feels Like Home

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: As promised, here is chapter 5 tonight. I was informed by a reader that quite a few times I've put "sense" instead of "since" and I apologize. What happens is, I use the grammar and spelling check and usually just let it change anything it needs to change and apparently, grammar/spelling check isn't always right. I go through and skim the chapter for anything major that needs to be fixed but I rarely pick up on little things like that. Anyway, keep the reviews coming guys! I couldn't be happier with the amount of follows and favorites so far but I could definitely be happier with the number of reviews! So please, review and let me know how you like this chapter. **

**P.S.: Sorry because this is kind of a "filler" chapter but it was a necessary filler and I tried to put sweet little moments in to keep you all happy. I promise you the story won't always be so depressing if you stick with it long enough. You guys are amazing! **

**P.S. Again: If you were wondering, I'm actually quite amazing at ice skating and only fell when I was knocked into by a very large man going entirely too fast. As for my parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins, they aren't so great at the whole staying on their feet on the ice thing so I had a hilarious and amazing time. **

Chapter 5: Feels Like Home

Sunday, December 21, rolled around and I was finally allowed to take my daughters home with me. My siblings and their spouses had left the day after they arrived, having to get back to work, but my parents had stayed the entire time with me. Now, Esme and a nurse were getting my daughters out of their hospital gowns and into some warm pajamas Esme bought for them for the trip back home. They still were not able to dress themselves, not with the casts on their arms and legs. Leighton had settled on pink, typical, and Emery on a sky blue color. Emery's right arm had to remain in a sling for her collarbone and the cast covered her entire arm. Leighton's left arm cast was the same as Emery's, aside from the color, but she didn't have to wear a sling. Her left leg was in a cast from her femur down to her foot, her knee bent, which meant she'd be in a wheelchair for awhile, something she detested. She would get a new cast, one with her leg straight in a few weeks and would be able to move from a wheelchair to crutches but she'd be in the wheelchair for Christmas.

In the few days I had been here, Bella had quickly become one of my best friends and though I was glad to be taking my daughters home, I couldn't help but be upset about leaving Bella. I would miss her and our ranting sessions out on the snow covered bench; I'd miss cheering her up and her cheering me up. I'd miss the small amount of comfort that Colton had offered my children. Colton was wise beyond his years; he took the horrible experience of losing his father and turned it into something positive, helping other children going through the same thing. I figured he got the desire to help others from his mother; maybe he'd be the second Dr. Swan psychiatrist.

"So you'll call me? If you need anything or want to talk?" Bella asked me.

"As long as you promise to do the same." I told her.

"And we'll talk at least once a week to check on each other's children?" She asked.

"Of course." I agreed.

"Goodbye Edward." She told me as she wrapped her arms gently around me.

"Goodbye Bella." I agreed.

I watched as Bella said goodbye to my children and I took a minute to say goodbye to Colton and then I wheeled Emery as Dad wheeled Leighton with Mom close behind us to the parking garage where the rental car was. Dad left to go and get the car while Mom and I stayed with the girls and soon enough Dad pulled up. Mom helped Emery out of her chair and into the car while I lifted Leighton. I opened the door and placed her inside and she began crying and clung to my neck.

"Daddy please! I don't want to!" She begged.

"Don't want to what Leighton? Princess, what's wrong?" I asked.

"We'll crash!" She cried.

"Oh princess." I sighed. "I'm going to be right between you and your sister and I'll hold you the whole way to the airport."

"No Daddy, please I don't want to." She cried.

"Princess I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you." I told her.

"But what if it's not your fault? Like how it wasn't Mommy's fault?" She asked.

"Princess, we've got to catch our flight." I sighed.

"Daddy." She whimpered.

"I know how scare you are princess but I need you to be brave for me, can you do that?" I asked.

"Okay Daddy." She whispered.

Leighton cried the entire time while Emery tried to stay calm and brave but couldn't help the trembles that overtook her small body. I kept my arms firmly yet gently around both girls the whole drive to the airport. We had ordered a wheelchair back home but for traveling it was easiest to just carry Leighton so I gently lifted her into my arms. Dad held on to Emery on one side, Mom supporting her on the other, as we made our way through the airport. People stared, that was to be expected, but no one asked. I couldn't even imagine the horrible things they thought about why my daughters were like this.

If they had seen the pictures they'd understand, of the accident I mean. The whole left side of the car was completely crushed; the airbag of the passenger deployed all the way to the passenger seat. It was truly a miracle my daughters were alive. Chelsea's family, her one great aunt, had decided not to hold a funeral but to get Chelsea cremated seeing as her body was so mangled so this was probably the last time my daughters would be in Chicago.

Soon enough, we were sitting on the plane. Leighton sat to my right, her left leg elevated on my lap, Emery sat behind her, next to my father, so her arm wouldn't touch anything. My mother was beside my father, looking worriedly between her granddaughters. We were flying first class again, only a few other people were in our section. No one sat on my other side, the closest flyer was across the aisle on the right section. We sat in the middle section occupying two of the four first class middle rows. Leighton and Emery were still exhausted from their stay in the hospital and were both sleeping soon after the plane took off. I held my daughter's leg still on my lap, smiling down at her as she slept. Even as battered as she was, when she slept she looked angelic.

When we landed in New York, both girls were jostled awake. Dad lifted Leighton in his arms and I lifted Emery seeing as she was still so unsteady on her feet and we quickly got them off of the plane. We were greeted by Eleazar, Carmen, Irina, and Laurent.

"We thought that the more space we could offer you all in the car the better so the girls could prop up their leg and arms." Uncle Eleazar told me.

"Uncle El." Emery mumbled sleepily from my arms.

"Hello darling, just rest now, you'll be home soon." He told her.

Laurent and Uncle Eleazar carried all of our luggage for us seeing as Carlisle and my arms were currently occupied. Emery easily got in the back of Uncle Eleazar's large SUV, my parents chose to ride with Irina and Laurent so Carlisle began trying to settle Leighton in beside me.

"No!" She yelled as she clung to his neck.

I sighed; it was bad enough forcing them to ride the fifteen minutes back in Chicago but now they were going to have to ride for two hours back home.

"Sweetheart, look, your Daddy is right beside you. He kept you safe last time didn't he?" Carlisle tried.

"Grandpa please! I don't want to, please." She cried.

"Oh sweetie, listen to me, your Daddy is going to be here the whole time and is going to hold you just like he did last time. Do you think you can be brave for Grandpa baby girl?" Dad asked.

Leighton sniffled but nodded and released her hold on my father. He kissed her forehead and made his way to Irina's car that Laurent was driving. Eleazar started the engine and began driving. Leighton's cries were soft at first but picked up the longer we drove. Halfway between New York and our home she was sobbing so hard I doubted she could breathe and all I could do was hold her.

Eventually, Leighton cried herself to the point of exhaustion that she just fell asleep. I couldn't help but be relieved about this; if she was sleeping she wasn't afraid, she was safe.

"Daddy?" Emery asked quietly.

"Yes pumpkin?" I asked.

"Are things every going to get better?" She whispered.

I sighed and kissed her still slightly bruised cheek. "They'll get better in time."

"Things are never going to be the same again though." She mumbled.

"No, they won't" I admitted. "but this pain, its temporary sweetheart. In time you'll heal, physically and mentally, and things won't be so tough anymore."

She nodded and rested her head on me. Soon enough we arrived at my parents' home, where we would stay for the first few weeks until my girls weren't as injured. I needed help with them, I needed my mother's help so she and Dad told me they wanted me to stay with them until the girls had healed a bit more. Mom had sent Rosalie and Alice to buy clothes for the girls, and to get fleece sheets because Lord knows the flannel ones Mom used "just weren't cozy enough for her granddaughters". Both girls were still snoozing so I picked up Emery and let Uncle Eleazar get Leighton. We carried them up the stairs to the guest room turned grandkids room. It had three sets of bunk beds. The girls usually chose top bunks but they wouldn't be able to climb up there so I laid them on two of the bottom bunks. Alice and Rosalie had gone as far as to decorate one of the bottom bunks in all pink and yellow and the other in all light blue and yellow, which is how I could tell which ones had the fleece sheets. Once my little ones were tucked in tightly I made my way downstairs to the living room and collapsed on the couch.

Dad joined me a few seconds later and sighed. "Things are going to get better son, you know that right?" He asked.

"I can't fix them and that scares the hell out of me. They're so helpless, they have to depend on me for every little thing and I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to give them what they need. They're terrified Dad, they want their mother and I can't be that to them, I'll never be able to be that for them." I admitted.

"You've been so incredibly strong and brave through all of this. I think you're being exactly what the girls need right now son and I'm so incredibly proud of you for that. It's going to be incredibly hard especially at first but you don't have to do this alone. You have so many people ready to support you and the girls, you're not alone Edward. You have all of us, you're not going to have to do this alone, not ever." He told me.

"I can't even convince Leighton that every time she gets in a car that she isn't going to be incredibly injured." I sighed.

"I know, that will pass though, once she heals some from the crash. She's traumatized; she's a child and doesn't understand that she is not going to be hurt every time she rides in a car. Children's brains aren't the same as adult's brains. Kids are resilient though which is why I truly believe she will heal fully, why I truly believe both of my little granddaughters will." He told me.

"Edward, sweetheart, your room is ready with fresh sheets and everything." My mother told me as she entered the room. "You haven't slept more than a few hours since the accident happened. Go get some sleep; the girls will be right down the hall from you."

I sighed, I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to stay up all night and be ready for my girls if they needed me but I was incredibly exhausted. "We'll be up for a while; we'll come and get you if they make even the slightest peep of discomfort." My father told me.

"Thank you" I told my parents "for everything, for supporting me and for supporting my girls, just for being here."

"It's what we're supposed to do." My mother smiled. "Now go get some rest you look horrible."

I chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

I made my way up to my old room that was still slightly similar to when I was a teenager. My old soccer and baseball trophies still covered shelves on one wall, team sports pictures framed beneath them. A few posters of bands I used to enjoy hung on walls, some Esme had taken down but she had left a few, and my crow from being elected Prom King still sat on the dresser. I always kept a few changes of clothes at my parents so I went through the dresser and found some pajamas. I looked into the mirror above the dresser for the first time in a few days and realized what my mother meant. I had bags under my eyes which were red from exhaustion and I was due for a much needed shave. I also decided I probably smelled quite a bit less than pleasant. I quickly took a shower and shaved my face clean and brushed my teeth. I struggled to keep my eyes open as I changed into the pajamas and then quite literally collapsed on the bed in my room. I was home, my girls were home, my girls were safe; that was enough to allow me to fall asleep peacefully.


	6. Chapter 6: Somebody to Lean On

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: Happy Christmas Adam! (Get it? Adam came before Eve so the day before Christmas Eve is Christmas Adam lol). Here's your gift, a very long chapter. I usually cut these off around 2,500 words but this chapter just kept going and there wasn't a good place to stop it and make it into two so here's a very long chapter in honor of Christmas Adam.**

Chapter 6: Somebody to Lean On

My peaceful, deep slumber was disrupted just a few hours after it began by a loud shriek. I instantly flung myself out of the bed and began running down the hall to the room my daughters were sleeping in.

"STOP! MOMMY LOOK OUT!" I heard a little yell.

I threw the door open and scrambled to Emery's bed where she was now thrashing in her sleep, tears pouring from her eyes. I instantly placed my hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

"Shh, pumpkin, its Daddy and I'm right here with you. Sweetheart, you're dreaming, it's just a dream, open your eyes for Daddy baby, please open your beautiful eyes." I soothed.

Sure enough, Emery's tear filled eyes flew open and landed on me. Her chest was visibly moving up and down as she panted trying to calm herself down. "Daddy." She sobbed.

"Daddy?" Leighton asked from the bed right beside her sister.

"You're both okay, Daddy's right here my beautiful little ladies." I told my angels.

"Daddy I'm so scared." Emery told me quietly.

"I know my little pumpkin but it's all over now. It was just a dream sweetheart." I told her.

"It wasn't Daddy, it wasn't just a dream. It was so real Daddy, it hurt again and everything." She sobbed.

"Daddy why is Emery crying?" Leighton asked as I could hear her lip tremble.

"Daddy can I sleep with you?" Emery cried.

"Me too Daddy, please?" Leighton asked.

Part of me knew that letting my little ones start a habit like this wouldn't be such a great idea but my daughters were hurting, badly, and I couldn't deprive them of such a simple solution to calming their fears. "Okay." I agreed.

I lifted Leighton in my arms and let Emery cling to the end of my shirt as we all made our way to my room. I put Leighton on the left side of the bed, Emery got in on the right, and I got in the middle. All casts were on the outside of the bed so hopefully I wouldn't wake with bruises from the casts hitting me in the middle of the night though if my daughters slept through the night I doubted I would be even slightly upset over a few bruises on my body from their casted limbs. Leighton's head rested on my shoulder, Emery's on my chest, and soon enough, the slight snores of my daughters were drifting me off to sleep again as well.

When I woke again, Emery still laid next to me in the bed with her head still on my chest but Leighton wasn't in bed anymore which meant Mom or Dad had carried her from the room in the night. I glanced at the clock and noticed it was nearing noon which meant we had been asleep for about eleven hours in this position. I really didn't want to wake Emery, she needed rest, but I also knew if she slept all day she wouldn't sleep at night and that would start a bad habit so I gently ran my fingers through her hair until she lifted her head from my chest and looked at me.

"Good morning pumpkin." I mumbled.

"Morning Daddy." She told me right as her stomach growled.

I chuckled. "Let's head downstairs; I'm sure Grandma has some sort of food cooked for us."

She nodded and we got out of bed and walked down the hall and down the flight of stairs. The stairs led to the living room, which is where Leighton sat with Dad watching Cinderella. She was sitting on his lap, her stuffed lamb in one arm, her other arm up to her face as she sucked her thumb. Dad didn't look like he was paying close attention to the movie but I knew he was more than content to sit with his granddaughter and keep her company.

Emery and I made our way to the kitchen where Mom stood over the stove cooking what smelled like macaroni and cheese.

"Good morning you two, Leighton requested macaroni and cheese for lunch but there's still some breakfast food in the fridge you can heat up if you'd like." Mom smiled.

"What would you like Pumpkin?" I asked.

"Can I have some pancakes with peanut butter and honey instead of syrup?" She asked.

"Of course." I told her. "I think I'll have the same."

I rummaged through the refrigerator and pulled out left over pancakes which I quickly put in the microwave as I got honey and peanut butter from the pantry. I made us plates and we sat on the island. Emery stayed quiet as she ate but she watched her grandmother intently as she cooked. Emery had always enjoyed helping Esme in the kitchen so her interest was nothing new but something seemed a little different.

I glanced at my mother as she continued humming a song and stirring the pot on the stove top. I listened closer and realized why Emery was acting strange. Mom was humming "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story, probably not even aware of it but that was the song that Chelsea used to sing to Emery every night before bed. It was Chelsea and Emery's special song. I heard Emery choke out a small sob and then began having trouble catching her breath.

"Sweetheart, calm down, breathe Pumpkin." I said as I rubbed her back gently.

Mom quit humming and turned to look at us. "Baby, what's wrong?" Mom asked Emery.

"Mommy used to sing that song." Emery cried.

Esme completely quit paying attention to the macaroni she was fixing and walked over to us and took her granddaughter in her arms. "I'm so sorry sweetheart; I didn't even realize what I was humming."

"I didn't remember until you were humming it. What if I forget about Mommy Grandma?" She whimpered.

"If you start forgetting then we'll remind you about her everyday if you want us to. We'll remind you about what she was like and how much she loved you and your sister." My mother answered without a second thought.

"I don't want to forget her." Emery whimpered.

I sighed and began running my hand through her hair. "You won't forget her Pumpkin." I mumbled.

Emery continued crying but didn't say anything as Esme released her. "After I finish lunch for your sister and Grandpa how about I help you take a warm bubble bath? It would help you relax some and feel delightful."

"Okay Grandma." Emery agreed.

"Alright baby, it shouldn't be too long now." Mom told her.

We ate in silence after that. I didn't have the right words to comfort my daughter; my daughter wasn't saying anything, just crying lightly. When Mom did finish the macaroni, she took Emery's hand and led her out of the kitchen.

I cleaned up Emery and my plates and then pulled out my phone. I had a text message from Bella I had missed from about half an hour ago.

"_Colton is being released today. He'll have to see a cardiologist on a regular basis for awhile but he gets to go home. –B" _it read.

"_That's great news." _I began. I didn't know how much I should tell Bella in the text about my little girls. I wanted so much to be able to sit out on that snow covered bench and tell her about the nightmares and about Emery's crying over the song, but I couldn't do that. I decided to leave the heavy stuff for a phone call. _"Call me later tonight, after you get settled back in at home. It's been a little rough around here and I miss you and need to talk. Try not to call after 9:30 though, that's when I'll be attempting to put the girls to bed. That'll make more sense after we talk as to why calling after bedtime isn't opportune. –E" _I replied.

Bella's response was almost immediate. _"I'll call at 8:00 your time. –B"_

I put away my phone and made my way to the living room. "The macaroni is ready." I told my father quietly seeing as Leighton was sleeping on top of him.

"I know that napping so late after sleeping in probably won't help her go to bed at a decent hour but she was so exhausted I didn't have the heart to keep her up." He whispered.

"Let me take her up to her bed, that can't be comfortable with her cast on you and all." I mumbled.

Dad shook his head. "This is the most helpful I've felt sense the accident, I'm good here."

"I'm going to go call Mike and check up on my patients." I told him. "I need to keep myself occupied."

"You don't have to do that; Mike probably won't want you worrying about your patients during a time like this." Dad shook his head.

"It'll help me to help someone." I told him. "It shouldn't take long."

"I'll be right here with little Leighton." Dad told me.

I nodded and made my way to the den so my phone call wouldn't disturb my sleeping child. I dialed Mike's number and waited for an answer.

"_Dr. Newton." _He answered his cell.

I chuckled. _"Really Mike? I've known you sense high school, you have an embarrassing selfie set on my contact and you answer with your formal title?"_

I heard Mike chuckle a little on the other end. _"Sorry Edward force of habit. You better not be calling to check on anything at work, I told your Dad that I've got this completely covered. You have bigger things to worry about than patients. How are my favorite little girls?" _

I sighed. _"As well as can be expected I guess, they're making progress, little by little, day by day, but they are making progress." _

"_Jessica and I were going to stop by and bring over some toys. She found Elsa and Ana pajamas for Leighton and Olaf pajamas for Emery as well as some other "Frozen" items and she's chomping at the bit to spoil your little ones. I told her to give you a while to get them settled back in at home but she's pretty insistent." _He told me.

"_I'm sure some visitors would perk them up." _I admitted. _"Are you all still planning on coming over tomorrow evening for the Christmas party?" _

"_Are you all still up to hosting it?" _He asked.

"_I just assumed Mom would want to. She tends to keep busy when she's worried and doesn't quit going so I just assumed that we still would. I'll ask her and see what she says."_ I told him.

"_I mean we would all understand if we didn't have it this year, it's been a crazy week for everyone." _He told me.

"_Speaking of the week, why don't you tell me how my patients are?" _I asked.

"_Sorry, no can do. Boss's orders, you aren't to be disturbed by work until you return to work." _He disagreed.

"_Did my father really make you promise that?" _I sighed.

"_No because your father knows you wouldn't stand for it. Your uncle on the other hand doesn't care if he pisses you off. I wouldn't tell you even if he hadn't asked; everyone here agrees that your daughters need you more than any patient ever could." _He told me.

"_I need something Mike, anything. I need to give you advice or be given good news. I need to be able to help someone because I feel like I'm not helping my daughters. Can you give me that?" _I practically begged.

I heard him sigh through the phone. _"Hmm, good news? Well, that patient you operated on to remove the tumors of just had his "No More Chemo Party. As for advice, I have a kid named Miguel that won't eat. I operated to remove his appendix three days ago and he won't eat. He doesn't speak English, only Spanish and Lord knows even with the translator we can't figure out why he won't eat."_

"_Is he from Mexico?" _I asked.

"_He is." _Mike agreed.

"_It's simple then, just find some Mexican food for him. He probably isn't used to food we eat here so find something he's comfortable with." _I shrugged.

"_I'll have to try that." _Mike agreed. _"Did either of those things help you?"_

"_Not really." _I admitted. _"But it was a good effort."_

He laughed. _"I try my best, I'm not always successful but I did try."_

Mike and I talked for a few more minutes before he finally hung up the phone. I sighed and plopped down. What was I going to do?

I decided to distract myself with watching movies with Dad and the girls. Emery cuddled next to me, resting her head on my side as she watched all the Christmas movies that came on. My sisters, aunt, and female cousins, all arrived before dinner time to begin preparing the food for the party which mom was indeed still throwing because she thought it would be good for everyone to have some normal. The party would take place instead of family dinner but the practice truly was like a family so it was really the same thing. We also still had Dad's cousins coming for the holidays. This was per Leighton and Emery's request a few days ago when they were still in the hospital. Mom was calling family members explaining what had happened and Emery and Leighton told her they still wanted everyone to be there for Christmas because it wouldn't be the same without them. Usually the cousins stayed with Mom and Dad but due to the situation, Dad's cousins had decided to stay in a hotel.

Sometime during the cooking festival in the kitchen, Alice stole my girls from us. She lifted Leighton and took Emery's hand and told them she wanted them to choose between a few outfits for various events in the coming days. I decided to not argue with my sister, especially after Rosalie decided to help. Rosalie would rein Alice in if she began to wear my little ones down.

The rest of the evening was sort of a blur. I helped Dad put up the additional decorations Mom insisted on for the party, we also helped the girls clean and set up the additional tables. We put them in the den, they were for the kids and the Den was always where the kids' tables were placed. After everything was set up, we all ate pizza. My sisters and the other females currently in the house were all giggling about how their husbands would have to scrounge together dinner for themselves and their children.

After dinner, everyone that wasn't sleeping here left and it was back to me, my parents, and my daughters. Emery wanted to have some time to read. She loved reading and was very gifted in that aspect. She had read the Harry Potter series at least twice but decided she wanted to read her favorite, _The Prisoner of Azkaban_ again. Reading always cheered her up; she was able to forget about whatever was happening around her and focus completely on the book in front of her so I was glad she wanted to read again. She curled up on one of the chairs in the living room, book propped up on her knees so she could flip the pages with her one good arm. Leighton decided she wanted to watch another movie and convinced my parents to watch _Frozen _with her in the den. At exactly 7:55 my phone rang and I left the living room to answer it in my room where no little ears could hear me. I would hate to wind up breaking down in front of my daughters especially over something involving them and I tended to let my guard down when I talked to Bella.

"_Bella." _I answered as I saw her name and picture on my screen.

"_You don't know how good it is to hear your voice." _She sighed a sigh of relief. _"As glad as I am about our children being out of the hospital, I miss it. I miss having you there when I need you, I miss that snow covered bench." _

"_I think you've literally been reading my mind all day." _I chuckled. _"How's Colton holding up?" _

"_The car ride was a nightmare. He couldn't quit crying. He hates crying, he hates seeming "weak" as he calls it so he has been up in his room sulking over crying sense we got here." _She sighed.

"_The girls had rough car rides too, Leighton worse than Emery but they were both pretty bad." _I admitted.

"_It's to be expected, I mean all three of the children are probably suffering from a hint of PTSD but it's a lot harder when it happens to your own kid than a patient. I mean I've given tons of advice to parents in this exact situation but I can't even use my own advice on my own child." _She sighed.

"_I know what you mean; I've just been so lost and confused about how to help my girls. You know, I called my colleague because I wanted him to have a problem I could fix, just so I could feel like I was fixing something. I mean how pathetic is that? I can't help my daughters so I try and avoid the problem by helping someone else's child? That's not right." _I sighed.

"_I get it, you want to help people. You are so very used to helping people that now when you suddenly can't, especially because it is people you love and care deeply about, you don't know what to do. I feel the same way, I mean I talk people through their problems every day, I talk children through traumatic situations every single day but I can't even start a conversation with my own son about it. It's different when someone you love needs help because you yourself feel so helpless that you can't help the person you want to help." _She told me.

"_You explained my every feeling in just a few sentences, no one else understands." _I admitted.

"_I quit my job." _Bella blurted out.

The complete change of topic threw me off for a second and I had to take a double take of what she had told me. _"You what?" _I asked.

"_I quit my job." _She repeated.

"_Why?" _I asked.

"_My boss wanted me to come in for work tomorrow and on Christmas Eve. I told him my son needed me but he told me I had patients that needed me. I told him that my son was more important and he told me if I didn't come in tomorrow I was fired so I told him that wouldn't come up because I quit." _She told me.

"_Are you okay with all this?" _I asked. Bella seemed to love her job; she loved helping kids so I wasn't sure how she would take not working anymore.

"_I think the accident was sort of a wakeup call. I had been putting work before my child far too many times. I think that this was a long time coming and the accident began tilting the ship and the conversation I had with my boss completely sank the ship. Colton is more important to me than my patients and I didn't quite see how much he needed me until all of this happened. Does that make me a horrible person? That it took something as major as a car accident to make me realize my child needed me? What kind of mother does that make me? I mean I didn't raise my son Edward, nannies did, babysitters did, friends did. Spending this much time with him made me realize I don't even know him all that well. Like I didn't even know that he hated bananas. He used to love them and I thought it would be a good solid food to start on and he told me he hadn't liked them sense he was eight. That's three years Edward. I've spent all my time helping other people's kids and getting to know them but I've barely spent anytime getting to know my own. I joined the most prestigious psychiatric practice in Chicago to make a name for myself and I let work get ahead of me. I mean my work day started every day at 6:30AM and ended at 7:00PM. I wasn't there when Colton woke up, I haven't made a single sporting event of his sense he was around seven, I've been an absent mother. I had other offers, from practices with less demanding hours but I chose making myself look good over my child. I'm a horrible mother." _I could tell Bella was crying, just by her voice. I wanted nothing more to be with her and hold her but I couldn't. I was twelve hours away and I couldn't hold her.

"_You're not a horrible mother. You did what you thought was best at the time, you made a name for yourself, you supported your son financially. All parents make mistakes Bella, hell, I've made thousands of mistakes, that doesn't make you a horrible parent, that makes you human. I'd be more concerned if you had been a perfect parent. You can't change the past Bella, only the future, so take the mistakes and learn from them. Pick yourself up from the ground, dust yourself off, and get back in the game. That's what my Dad always told me during baseball and soccer and as cheesy and cliché as this sounds, it goes for life too. You're going to have moments like these where you fall, where you fail, where you want to stay on the ground and never get up again but you've got to. You've got to pick yourself up and you've got to keep going because if you don't, well, then what's the point?" _I'm not even sure how I came up with the advice I gave Bella, it was like suddenly I just had all these words come to me.

"_Are you sure you aren't the shrink?" _She laughed.

I chuckled. _"Remember what I told you a while back, I really enjoyed my psych rotation." _

"_Wish I could say the same about my surgical rotation." _She sighed.

"_What happened? Did you pass out in the OR?" _I joked. There was no response so I laughed even harder. _"You did, didn't you?" _

"_Not exactly." _She disagreed. _"I was helping wheel the patient to the OR and I bumped into something and nicked my hand. I began bleeding, just a little, but then it made me think of how much blood was going to be in the OR and I passed out before we even reached the surgical floor."_

I tried to hold in my laughter but I just couldn't help it. _"You mean to tell me that the thought of blood makes you pass out?"_

She huffed an adorable little huff before answering. _"No, not exactly, the thought of 'I'm about to see this guy cut open' made me pass out." _

"_That's a little more understandable." _I agreed.

"_I've gotten better though, back in high school I passed out from blood typing in biology." _She admitted. _"When my former high school biology teacher heard I was heading to medical school he didn't believe it and called me himself to ask."_

"_It was sort of a shock to people from high school for me too. I always had the grades and having a father that's a well known physician might make people think I'd follow in his footsteps but I was rebellious, I had other plans. I wanted to play major league baseball. I was good too, like really good but those dreams ended during college." _I told her.

"_What happened?" _She asked curiously.

"_Blew out my knee in my first college baseball game as a freshman while stealing third base which meant I missed all of my freshman season and unfortunately, my ACL repair wasn't as speedy as some and I missed all of my sophomore year too. By the time I was a junior I realized I had no chance of playing MLB so I decided to focus on school. I fell in love with the idea of medical school in my anatomy and physiology class." _I told her.

"_I wanted to be a high school teacher, preferably junior English so I could teach Shakespeare." _Bella told me. _"Then college happened and I fell in love with psychology. I originally wanted to get a PHD and be a clinical psychologist but I thought MD would sound pretty darn good after Bella Swan so I went to med school instead."_

"_So you're a sucker for Shakespeare?" _I asked.

"_Yes, well, more of a sucker for classic books. I love "Wuthering Heights", it's one of my favorite books. Then there's books like Pygmalion, 1984, Animal Farm, basically anything they teach in high school English classes, and no, I'm not a full grown woman with the brain of a teenage girl, I just enjoy a good book. So what's your secret obsession Edward? Do you secretly still have all your baseball cards from your childhood?" _She giggled.

"_Actually, yes, but that's not it. I guess my secret obsession is music. I play the piano, I have sense I was a young boy, but I really enjoy music. I love classical, Debussy, Mozart, Beethoven, anything really. I also really like the 'British Invasion' music so Beetles is an all time favorite, then there's also classic rock, Journey, Queen, stuff like that." _I told her. _"I guess we're both secretly just huge nerds." _

"Daddy, will you come read me a bedtime story?" I heard Leighton call from the other room.

"_Duty calls." _Bella sighed. _"Call me tomorrow if you get a chance, I'll be free all day."_

"_I will, probably earlier rather than later because we'll have company later but I'll call." _I promised.

"_Goodnight Edward, I hope you sleep well with two little ones in the bed with you." _She told me.

"_How'd you guess that?" _I asked.

"_Magic, that and Colton wants to sleep with me so I assumed your girls would be the same. While I can't condone it as a psychiatrist, I can condone it as a mother." _She smiled.

I said goodbye to Bella and then made my way to get my girls in bed. I read them a story, hummed to them, and then fell asleep with them.


	7. Chapter 7:This is a Call

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: Here's chapter 7 which means that the days are caught up between real time and story time. I'm going to hopefully post at least one more chapter today if not two or three but no promises. I'm pretty busy with my cousins but I think I can escape to my room for a few hours.**

Chapter 7: This is a Call

I woke the next morning much like I had the previous day, with Emery still lounging on me sleeping, the two exceptions being it was much earlier, around 8:30, and Leighton was still sleeping halfway on top of me as well. As gently as I could I moved the girls off of me so I could go shower and get ready for the day. When I walked into my bathroom I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. I felt like I was back in high school when Alice would try to pick out my clothes because sitting on the counter was an outfit for me.

There was a black sweater with a red button down shirt to go underneath, a pair of khaki pants, a brown belt, a red scarf, and a pair of brown dress shoes. There was also a note on top of the pile of neatly folded clothes.

_Edward, considering the circumstances I figured you wouldn't have time to pick out an outfit for the party tonight so I went to your house and used the key under the doormat (which by the way, is a completely obvious place to hide a key) and found your sizes and went and bought these when I went out to buy clothes for Leighton and Emery. The outfit will match their outfits perfectly so don't change a single thing about the outfit itself. Don't worry about getting the girls ready, Rosalie and I will be at Mom and Dad's way before the party begins and we will do everything. You can put this on in the morning so you aren't tempted to change anything later on. I didn't buy you boxers because that would just be gross and I figured you had some at Mom and Dad's._

_ Love Always, Alice (your favorite sister)_

I rolled my eyes and put the note back down before I showered and got ready for the day. I went ahead and put on the outfit Alice had picked out because it was easiest to grab and then I went ahead downstairs so the girls could sleep. Aunt Carmen was already over and helping Mom in the kitchen when I got there. They were making tons of party foods and chatting away with some Christmas music playing in the background.

"Good, you're awake. Sweetheart, can you go and set all the tables? Use the good Christmas china for the adults and the good silverware but use the less breakable Christmas china for the kids and the dinner silverware." Mom told me.

"Yeah, sure." I agreed.

"Are the girls still sleeping?" Mom asked.

"They are, I thought I'd just let them wake up when they wake on their own as long as it isn't passed 10:30 or so because they really do need the rest." I told her.

"After you're done with the tables you can go outside and make sure that the driveway and other parking areas are shoveled so that everyone can park. I want you to do it now and I'll have your brother do it right beforehand. I'll listen for the girls and come get you if they wake." She told me.

I nodded and grabbed a banana from the counter and began eating it, thinking about Bella as I did so because of the conversation we had the previous day. I then got to work doing everything Mom had asked me. By the time I finished shoveling the snow outside; Aunt Carmen told me Mom was helping the girls bathe upstairs so she put me to work helping her cook.

"How are they?" Aunt Carmen finally asked.

I sighed. "I don't know." I admitted. "I try so hard to understand what they're going through but I just can't. I just don't' know how I can help them when I don't fully understand how they feel."

"How are you Edward? I'm sure everyone's been asking about the girls but how are you? You went through a lot this past week, you lost a person you once loved and still loved to some extent and almost lost your daughters, that had to take a toll on you. I know your emotions have probably been overlooked by everyone, including yourself, so how are you?" She asked as I stirred some cake mix.

"I'm…" I began but couldn't find the words. I didn't know how I was, I honestly didn't. I think I'm okay, I mean not exactly okay because I'm still sort of in this state of shock from everything that happened but I'm more okay than I thought I would be. "I guess I don't really know, I haven't thought about it much. I mostly am just worried about the girls."

"Which is understandable, completely understandable but you went through a trauma too Edward, its okay to not be okay." She told me.

"For now, I just want to try and have a slightly normal day, well as normal as it can be. I want to give the girls a way to escape everything and have as much fun as they can. I might be pushing myself or the girls into further denial and that might make me a horrible person but I just want them to have a wonderful Christmas and that starts today, with this party, so I'm just going to try and give them as normal of a day as I can." I told her.

She nodded and we continued baking in silence until Mom came down the stairs with Leighton in her arms, Emery following close behind. Neither of the girls were in the party clothes yet but I assume that's because Alice wanted to get them ready. I took Leighton from Mom's arms and held her.

"The chair should be coming in soon and then you can be slightly mobile." I told my little girl.

"I kind of like being carried. " She shrugged. "It's less effort."

Everyone chuckled a bit at this, it was one of the first jokes Leighton had cracked since the accident and I was hoping that maybe today could be normal like I wanted it to be. __

Alice arrived shortly after the encounter and took my girls back upstairs, a large silver glitter bag in hand filled with God knows what. Rosalie was next, arriving right before lunch time. She informed me she took a half day off to help Mom. After Rosalie came Irina, Kate, and Tanya, all having taken half days as well and soon enough, everyone was busy getting things ready for the party. Eventually, Mom told me I was dismissed for now so I headed up to check on the girls. They were still in their non-party clothes but Alice was working on their hair.

"Daddy, let Auntie Alice do your hair so you can be as pretty as us." Leighton giggled.

"Not possible Princess, you're far too pretty for me to even compare." I laughed.

"Look Daddy, Auntie Alice is almost done curling mine. She's going to French braid the front of it back and clip it too. It'll be so pretty right Daddy?" Emery asked.

"Of course Pumpkin." I smiled

"Come on Edward, have a heart, let me get my hands on those messy curly bronze locks." Alice laughed.

"And with that I'm out of here, you girls don't let Auntie Alice torture you too much." I joked.

Alice glared at me. "I'll have you know Edward, that your daughters are quite enjoying this pampering." My sister snarled playfully.

"Well…" Emery trailed off.

"Watch it, you won't be my favorite eight year old niece anymore." Alice warned.

"I'm your only eight year old niece; I have to be your favorite." Emery said happily.

"You are too smart for your own good." Alice told her with a smile.

"She gets it from me." I chuckled before turning to leave. Both of my daughters were beginning to become slightly sassy again, starting up their silly antics and I couldn't be more proud. I couldn't help but wonder how Bella was, and Colton for that matter; It was strange, how I could care so deeply about two people I barely knew. I wasn't sure what the feelings I felt for Bella and her son were. I cared about what happened to them, I felt very protective of them and wanted them to be okay. I felt like if a bus were rushing towards them I'd jump in front to save them. It couldn't be love, not this soon, I doubted it at least. The last time I had truly been in love was in fact with Chelsea but it had taken years before I fell so hard for her. Now, I felt so strongly about a beautiful woman and her son when I had just met the pair about a week ago, no, exactly a week ago. Today marked my one week anniversary of first seeing Bella.I meandered my way into my father's study so I could call Bella.

"_Hello?" _She answered almost on the first ring with a sense of urgency in her voice, something wasn't right, I could tell.

"_Bella?" _I asked. _"What's going on? You seem worried." _

"_Colton's back in the hospital, his heart stopped beating early this morning. I had to do CPR to resuscitate him which I was able to do but this was completely unexpected. To be honest, I don't think these doctors have any clue what they're doing. I mean they sent him home yesterday and today his heart quits beating. He's not fine Edward, something isn't right. They aren't fixing him, they haven't fixed him. He's never even had a bad cold before and suddenly his heart is stopping left and right. I don't know what triggers it, I don't know how to prevent it, and I don't think the doctors here know either and I don't think they're any closer to figuring it out than they were when he was first brought here." _Bella all but sobbed.

"_Where is he right now? What's going on?" _I asked trying to make sure Bella wasn't saying all of this in front of him.

"_They're getting a chest x-ray, chest CT, and an EKG. They wouldn't let me go with him, they made me wait behind, they wouldn't even let me stay with him and hold his hand." _She cried.

"_Calm down, that's first. I want you to just breathe for a minute and gather your thoughts, relax as much as you possibly can which I know is tough seeing as I wasn't even close to relaxing when my children were hurt but trust me, relaxation does a world of good for stress." _I told her.

"_I can't." _She disagreed, a sob raking through her chest as she did.

"_Shh, yes you can, just try." _I said softly. It was silent for about a minute so I decided to continue. _"Are you calm?" _

"_I think so, yes." _She agreed, no sobs overtaking her.

"_Now that you're calmed down, you need to really think about if you think Colton is being well cared for or not and if you still thing he's not then you're going to have him transferred. New Canaan Children's Hospital is currently ranked number one for pediatric cardiology not to mention that my father is a world renowned pediatric cardiologist. I have an in there because that is the hospital I operate on patients at so I can make a phone call and arrange for a helicopter to airlift Colton and I can call ahead and have a team waiting for him. They'll figure out what is wrong." _I told her. 

"_You'd do that for us?" _She asked with shock in her voice.

"_Of course, I'll even have one of the cardiologists I know ride along in the helicopter to monitor Colton's condition. Dad can't, Mom would kill him if he missed this party tonight but my friend is the head of cardiology at New Canaan Children's and is probably already working." _I told her.

"_What do you think I should do?" _Bella asked anxiously.

"_If you really feel like Colton is not receiving the care he needs then I would have him transferred." _I admitted.

"_I just feel like his heart isn't something to play around with." _She sighed.

"_I agree, so would you like for me to make the calls?" _I asked.

"_Yes, please, if it really isn't any trouble." _She told me.

"_Don't worry about a thing, I'll take care of everything." _I assured her.

"_Colton's back, I've got to go." _She told me. _"Thank you so much for this Edward, you don't have any idea how much it means to me." _

"_Anytime." _I told her.

The phone calls began after that, I started with New Canaan Children's, to arrange a bed and a team for Colton and the helicopter. I then dialed a number I swore I'd never dial again, the number that belonged to my ex-girlfriend, an amazing pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, a woman whom I hadn't spoken to aside from necessities at work in years, Lauren Mallory.

"_This is Lauren." _Her all too familiar voice spoke.

"_Lauren, I need your help." _I sighed.


	8. Chapter 8: Help

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: When I said helicopter in the last chapter I meant "Life Force" like the thing that airlifts patients I just blanked on the name which is surprising seeing as my father is a doctor and such but anyway, "Life Force" is what I meant by helicopter. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! I'll cut you guys a deal, I have 31 reviews as of right now, if that can get up to 40 by tonight when I get home from the family Christmas Eve Party (probably around 10:00PM Central Time) I will give you a chapter as soon as I am coherent enough to post one. Here's chapter 8, enjoy!**

**P.S.: I kind of think this chapter sucks so if it does I'm sorry. It is definitely a filler but it's all I could come up with.**

Chapter 8: Help

"_This is Lauren." _Her all too familiar voice spoke.

"_Lauren, I need your help." _I sighed.

"_Edward?" _Lauren asked.

"_It's me." _I agreed.

"_Is everything alright with your girls? I heard about the accident, minor details mostly but are they alright? What's going on?" _She asked.

"_My girls are alright, or they are becoming alright but that's not why I called. I need a favor." _I sighed.

"_A favor?" _She asked.

"_I know, I know, I have no right to ask you for anything after everything I put you through but I need you to do something for me. If you can't do it for me, do it for the kid I need you to do it for because he needs you." _I told her, not quite sure if my words made any sense at all.

"_I don't understand; just tell me what's going on, from the beginning." _Lauren said the confusion evident in her voice.

"_There's this little boy, he's eleven. He was in the car that crashed into the car with the girls. His mother and I became very close in the couple of days we were there. I think it was because we were essentially going through the same nightmare. Anyway, the kid's heart keeps stopping, the cardiac specialists in Chicago aren't doing anything productive and his mother wants another opinion. When she told me this I immediately thought of him being transferred here due to the pediatric cardiac care the hospital has. I know you don't owe me anything but could you please take him on as your patient? If not for me just for him? To save the little guy's life? He's a great kid Lauren, I mean he's helped my daughters more than you could ever believe and he deserves a long, happy, healthy life." _I couldn't think of anything else to add or to ask so I just stopped.

"_Have you already looked into transferring him?" _She asked.

"_You were the first person I called after speaking with his mother." _I told her.

"_Alright, give me his name and the name of the hospital he is in and I'll get him transferred." _She said.

"_You're really going to do this for me? This easily?" _I asked.

"_No, I'm not doing this for you Edward, I'm doing this for that little boy, I'm not doing this for you or your latest love interest." _She told me, the bitterness evident in her voice.

"_If it's going to be a problem I can look for another surgeon and she is not my love interest She understands me on a level no one else does." _I told her.

"_It's not going to be a problem. I'll treat the patient like I always treat my patients, I'll treat his mother like I always treat mothers of patients, and I'll continue treating you courteously because we are colleagues nothing more. If she's really just a friend, you better stop talking about her like that because to me, it sounds like you've fallen in love so keep telling yourself you're not but don't come crying to me when the realization sinks in." _Lauren snapped.

"_Do you think you could ride along on Life Force?" _I asked.

"_What?" _She asked in return.

"_I just thought taking precautions would be good seeing as the kid's health is pretty unpredictable right now." _I told her.

"_Yes but I can't leave here for another two hours. Now send me the kid's information and I'll make some calls." _She told me.

I hung up the phone and texted all of the details I knew about Colton like his full name, age, and the hospital name, to Lauren and then put my phone in my pocket. I couldn't focus very well as I made my way to see if the girls were still alive after Alice's makeover session. All I could think about was Bella, and Colton, and how they would be landing at New Canaan's Children's via Life Force in just less than six hours. It would've been sooner but I wanted Lauren to ride along just in case Colton needed her. As much as I detested that woman she was one hell of a doctor.

"Daddy, look aren't we so pretty?" Leighton asked.

I looked at my daughters. Alice had dressed them to match me and to match each other. Both girls wore the same white colored sweater dress, Leighton wore red leggings, Emery black, Leighton black boots, Emery red, and Leighton hat, gloves, and scarf were red with white reindeers while Emery's were black with white reindeers. It looked like Alice had cut the legging on Leighton's left leg so she could wear the leggings with her cast and I'm sure she kept the left boot somewhere in the closet of the bedroom so it wouldn't be lost for when Leighton could wear both shoes again.

"Very pretty." I smiled at my daughters. "You two are the most beautiful ladies I've ever seen."

"You three look perfect and you'll match the color scheme of the family perfectly. We'll have to take some pictures as soon as everyone is dressed. Edward, get the girls downstairs because I've got to get ready myself." Alice told us.

I nodded and reached my arms to Leighton. "Your chariot awaits my darling."

Leighton giggled and allowed me to lift her in my arms. Emery followed us closely down the stairs and to the playroom where I sat Leighton on the couch and told the girls they could watch movies until everyone arrived. In the meantime, I went to make sure Mom didn't need my help.

"Anything I can do?" I asked my mother.

"No sweetheart, we're alright. Everything is just about done and then I'll ask you to come transfer food to tables but other than that we have this covered." Mom assured me.

"Where are the girls?" Rosalie asked me curiously.

"Watching TV in the playroom." I told her.

"Well, if you all can do without me, I'm going to go spend some time with beautiful nieces." Rosalie told the other women before rinsing her hands and leaving the kitchen.

My phone rang signaling I had a text so I pulled it out.

"_They said we should be in New Canaan in a little under four hours, they're getting Colton ready to be transferred. Thank you so much for this, you have no idea how much it means to me." –Bella_

"_I can't promise I'll be by tonight, though I will try, but I promise to come by tomorrow." –Edward_

"_You don't have to do that. You're probably so busy with the girls and Christmas, don't worry about it" –Bella_

"_I want to worry about it." –Edward_

"_You're sort of my Knight in Shining Armor, did you know that?" –Bella_

I chuckled. _"I try." –Edward_

"What are you smirking about hmm?" Tanya asked with a small smirk on her face.

"I'm not smirking." I disagreed.

"Does Eddie have a girlfriend?" Kate raise her eyebrows.

"Are we five years old again?" I snapped.

"He's defensive which means he does have a girlfriend!" Irina exclaimed.

"I don't have a girlfriend and don't let my daughters hear you say things like that, it would upset them." I hissed.

"Girls, stop antagonizing him." Aunt Carmen stood up for me.

"Sorry Edward." Tanya apologized.

"I'm sorry for snapping I just haven't slept and I'm a little stressed." I sighed. "I'm just going to go sit with the girls until everyone arrives."

I left the group of women and headed to the playroom. Rosalie was sitting between my two girls, each of their heads resting on their aunt's shoulder as _The Polar Express _played on the TV.

"Aunt Rosie?" Leighton asked softly.

There were four people in this world allowed to call Rosalie Rosie and that was Emmett, Henry, Leighton, and Emery. It started because Emery couldn't say Rosalie correctly and heard Emmett call her "Rosie" once and then Emery figured out though she couldn't say Rosalie, she could stay Rosie, and it stuck.

"Yes Leighton?" Rosalie asked gently.

"When your Mommy died were you sad too?" Leighton asked softly.

Emery did something I wasn't quite expecting. I was expecting Emery to sit and listen to what Rosalie was going to say but instead she threw herself off the couch.

"Shut up Leighton! I was having a normal day and then you had to bring that up again! Can't you learn how to keep your mouth shut so I can be happy for once?!" Emery snapped.

"Emery, calm down and apologize to your sister." I said gently.

"No! I'm not apologizing to her! I'm never apologizing to her! I hate her! I hate everything now! I feel like I'm so mad about everything and I feel like I'm not going to ever be happy or not mad again! She ruined me being happy and I'm not apologizing for that!" Emery yelled causing tears to roll down her cheeks and Leighton to start crying too. "I want to be alone!" Emery snapped as she hurriedly made her way out of the playroom.

I watched after Emery for a few minutes and then turned back towards Leighton. I was torn, did I comfort my now sobbing daughter or go try and help my angry daughter.

"Go, I've got this." Rosalie told me as she wiped some tears from Leighton's cheeks.

I nodded and left the playroom and began looking for Emery. Alice stood in the living room slightly in shock. "Upstairs, I was about to go after her but you got here first."

"Thank you." I mumbled to my sister as I jogged up the stairs. I followed the sound of light cries to the grandkids' bedroom where Emery sat on the ground crying.

"Go away!" She snapped.

"Emery, please Pumpkin, talk to me." I tried.

"I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to because I don't want to think about it. I want to pretend like none of this ever happened. I miss her so much Daddy and thinking about her just makes it worse. Why'd she have to leave me Daddy?" Emery cried.

"Come here Pumpkin." I offered.

"No." She shook her head.

"That's not an option." I disagreed. "Come here and talk to me."

Emery huffed an adorable huff but moved to my side and allowed me to hold her. "I just don't know what I feel Daddy. I'm scared and sad and mad and I don't know. I can't stop seeing it, the crash, every time I hear something loud or see a bright light it reminds me. Daddy I'm just so confused."

"I know Pumpkin, it'll get better I promise. It might be a very long time until it does get better but it will, you'll have ups and downs but eventually things will get better." I told her.

"Daddy?" She asked.

"Yes Pumpkin?" I asked.

"Do you think we can just stay like this? For a little while? Will you just hold me?" She asked.

"Of course Pumpkin." I promised.

So I did, I held Emery for what seemed like hours before she finally looked up at me. "I should say sorry to Leighton, I didn't mean to yell at her."

"Okay Pumpkin, do you want me to come with you?" I offered.

"No Daddy, I think I can do this on my own." She told me.

"You're a bright little girl." I smiled.

I helped stand up and steady herself and then watched as she left the room. I made my way downstairs a little while after her and was greeted by the men of my family. One by one, members of the practice began arriving and soon enough, we were all seated around various tables and eating. After eating, we all sat around talking while Christmas music played in the background. The kids were all in the playroom and watching Christmas movies together, various colleagues of mine had brought little gifts for my girls which they gladly accepted. Around 9:00, Emery came and told me she was tired so I put her and Leighton to bed. By 10:00, everyone was leaving and my girls were sleeping in my bed.

The guys of my family had stayed back to help cleanup, the ladies had taken their children home. All I could think about was Bella and Colton. They would be at the hospital by now, just ten minutes away and I really did want to go check on them. I had to wait until morning though, so I'd have time to explain the situation to my parents first.

After everything was cleaned up and after everyone had left, I made my way up to my room and got changed to pajamas and climbed in bed between my daughters. All that was on my mind as I fell asleep was Bella and Colton and how I would see them the next morning.


	9. Chapter 9: Silent Night

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: So, updates are going to be less frequent because it now takes me about three times as long to type. My little cousins that live up North got new sleds for Christmas so, my cousins around my age and I being the amazing role models we are decided we would test the sleds for them. Here's the problem, where I live it's like 40 degrees, maybe a little less, so not cold enough to snow but the storms have caused a butt load of rain. There is this very steep, very long hill behind my grandmother's house and we decided seeing as it was muddy we would be able to sled. Well, long story short, I was convinced to go first and let's just say one 17 year old girl plus a sled and mud equals a broken ulna. My doctor dad thought I was kidding when I ran in crying to the house and clutching my wrist but then took one look at it and took me to the ER. Right now it's just in a splint and I'll have to see an orthopedic surgeon (not hard to do because I've been injured quite a few times before) to get my hard cast and to talk about recovery time and options. So lesson learned, don't ever sled on mud. Anyway, typing one armed is really hard and the splint is fairly large so it's hard to type with my left hand. I'll try to keep writing as much as possible but honestly trying to type is just really annoying.**

Chapter 9: Silent Night

I woke early Christmas Eve, very early. Most of the family was arriving early to spend the entire day with our cousins who had driven from their hotel and arrived around 7:00, which sounds earlier than they feel it is because where they live, 7:00 would be about 11:30. The oldest of Dad's cousins was Marcus and his wife Didyme with their one son Demetri married to Renata with two children of their own, six year old Winston and four year old Madison. Then there's Caius and his wife Athenodora with Felix and his wife Heidi, just married in the summer, the last time we had seen them was for the wedding which was held in London. Then came Aro and Sulpicia and their twins Jane and Alec who were seventeen, seniors in high school

They all sat around the kitchen, all eating part of the feast Mom had prepared. Emmett and Jasper were doing their fair share of harassing Jane and Alec, one of their favorite hobbies while Rosalie and Alice harassed Felix and Heidi about their honeymoon in Italy. The children busied themselves chatting with Winston and Madison, my girls the only exception who were still in bed. Yesterday, they had overdone it a bit with the party so I thought it'd be best to let them sleep in.

I joined in on the conversation my father and uncle were having with their cousins about medicine. All three of his cousins were in the medical field, Aro in trauma, Caius in infectious disease, and Marcus in oncology. They were telling Dad and Uncle Eleazar about some of the new policies at their hospital which they were less than fond of.

I began eating the delicious breakfast, halfway paying attention to the conversations around me until Emery came and interrupted me.

"What is it Pumpkin?" I asked.

"Leighton won't quit crying." She told me. "I thought I should get you."

"Thank you sweetheart." I told her as I quickly got up and left the kitchen.

I scurried up to my room and gently lifted Leighton in my arms. "What is it Princess?" I asked.

"My arm hurts really bad." She cried.

"Okay Princess, it's probably because you didn't take your medicine before you fell asleep. Let's get you downstairs and get it for you." I told her as I lifted her in my arms and began walking down to the kitchen.

I sat Leighton on the counter as I opened the medicine cabinet and found the medicine prescribed for pain. "Not feeling too good this morning Leighton?" Tanya asked from where she stood beside me.

She shook her head. "My arm hurts."

"Here Princess, take this." I told her once I had the appropriate dosage.

Leighton took the cup of liquid from me and gulped it down before wrapping her arms around me again. "I want Grandpa." She told me.

"Okay Princess." I agreed.

Carlisle happily took his granddaughter in his arms and let her rest her head on his chest as she watched her older cousins, who we just explained as uncles.

Emery took to playing with Logan and Lucas, I had to warn her about running around though as she began chasing her cousins. As well as she felt, she wasn't completely healed but she wasn't, and the more her cousins wanted to play the more I had to remind her she was still in the process of healing.

"Do you want me to go keep an eye on them?" Alec asked.

"That's alright, she knows her limits." I disagreed.

"Grandpa, Santa's coming tonight right?" Leighton asked.

All the adults that overheard chuckled a bit but Leighton was dead serious. "Of course my angel, he'll bring you lots of presents."

"Do you think he'll still bring me a new bike even though I won't be able to ride it for awhile?" She asked.

"I bet he will." Carlisle agreed knowing that I had already bought new bikes for both girls.

"Leighton, do you want to go watch Frosty with me, Oliver, and Madison?" Little Winston asked.

"Okay." Leighton agreed.

Carlisle helped Leighton get to the playroom before returning to the kitchen.

"How are they Edward?" Sulpicia asked as she took a seat beside her husband.

I sighed. "As well as can be expected, I think the excitement of Christmas is helping them forget about things for now."

"Medically how are they?" Aro asked.

"Better than I'd expect but kids are resilient little things so that's probably a big part of it. I think Leighton is getting tired of having to be so reliant on everyone but she should hopefully be in a straight leg cast soon and be able to use crutches." I told them.

"How are you Edward?" Didyme asked.

"I'm alright." I promised them. "I'm just trying to help the girls through all these changes."

"Have you considered therapy? I know that it can be a huge help, it was after Felix lost his sister." Marcus added.

"I thought I'd wait until after the Holidays to look more into it." I told them.

"They seem well." Athenodora said "better than I expected."

"We're just so grateful they're alive." Caius told us.

"Alright, enough with the heavy, let's talk plans for the day." Alice cheered.

"Instead of ice skating I thought we could see a movie." Mom said.

"You guys can go ice skating if you want, two of the girls' and my friends are actually in town, their friend is in the hospital and I'm sure they'd be glad to see him." I told her.

"I still like the idea of a family movie, maybe we could meet up after skating and all go together. Then we'll have the football game, Christmas Eve dinner, then we'll head to the Christmas Eve service at church, then come home and let the kids open their pajamas." Mom decided.

"Should we still have the football game? We're doomed with my first pick being out." Emmett groaned.

"The girls would want everything to be as normal as possible; they'll be content watching with Mom and the other ladies." I told him.

"We'll do Polar Express after the kids are all in their new pajamas and then we'll put everyone to bed." Rosalie decided.

"Which is when we'll head to the hotel." Aro agreed.

"And you'll all be back by 8:00 for Santa." Esme directed.

"And for your traditional Christmas morning feast." Felix chuckled.

"Sounds like a plan." Dad decided.

The morning passed and soon enough I found myself helping Leighton get dressed. Emery had become fairly self dependant, only needing help on buttons and zippers but Leighton couldn't stand so putting on any clothes that involved standing was difficult for her.

After both girls were dressed I decided to tell them about Bella and Colton so I had them sit on the bed and began. "Girls, you remember Colton and his Mommy Ms. Bella right?" I asked.

"Yeah I miss Colton, he was nice." Emery agreed.

"Ms. Bella was really nice too and really pretty." Leighton agreed.

"Well, Colton is still sick and he's in the hospital that Daddy works at." I told them.

"Can we go see him? Oh no Daddy! What if Santa can't find him!? What if he doesn't get any presents? Daddy, can we go buy him presents? Everyone needs presents!" Leighton decided.

"One thing at a time Princess" I chuckled "we'll get Colton presents but we have to figure out what he wants."

"Santa will find him right Daddy?" Leighton asked with the most hope I'd seen in her eyes in quite some time.

"Of course Princess." I agreed.

"But where will the presents go? Does Colton have a tree? What about a stocking? Daddy Santa can't come if there's nowhere to put the presents." Leighton's little lip trembled.

"We'll just have to get him some decorations too." I told my little one, not wanting her to start crying.

"Can we go shopping Daddy? I think Colton needs some Christmas." Emery asked batting her beautiful eyes.

"I'll call Ms. Bella and see if she knows some things Colton wants and then we can go." I decided.

"Okay Daddy." Emery smiled.

These girls were too darn cute for their own good. I doubted if I'd ever be able to say no to them, not with how sweet and selfless they were. My daughters truly were rare gems, most children wouldn't even think about the things another child wanted for Christmas but my girls were truly concerned for Colton's happiness. It was beautiful really.

I called Bella who tried to convince me I didn't need to do what I was planning on doing but I was set on doing this so my girls would be happy and so Colton could have as normal of a Christmas as kids in the hospital could. I didn't know him well but he seemed like a kid that deserved everything life could offer him. I learned that Colton wanted books for Christmas mostly, all kinds of them. He had lost his Harry Potter books when he and Bella had moved and really wanted more. He also wanted the first book in a series called _Kingdom Keepers _and was missing his copy of _The Hobbit _and was obsessed with anything written by C.S. Lewis. He also was interested in almost every sport. He loved soccer, baseball, lacrosse, football, basketball, tennis, and cross country. Along with this came his favorite brand of clothing and shoes, Nike. Aside from his love for sports he played guitar, quite well by what Bella said and wanted some new sheet music. She threatened me, telling me if I spent too much she would go and buy every single thing my girls could come up with wanting. I just laughed and told her I wouldn't spend more than I could afford. What Bella probably forgot was that it would be very hard for me to spend more than I could afford.

I told my girls the things Colton wanted and they made a list. Emery insisted that all the books needed to be the first priority right before the soccer things and then the rest of the sporting goods while Leighton was more interested in getting Colton clothes and music for his guitar. I just laughed and let them each come up with five things they thought we should definitely get Colton. I also made a list of my own, for things from Santa to Colton. I doubted that he still believed at eleven but on the rare chance he did I wanted to be prepared.

After we were all prepared for the shopping adventure I made my way to tell Mom our plans and then, once she told me a time to try and be back by, we left. I made sure to put Leighton's wheelchair, we she had yet to use, in the trunk and soon enough I was driving with my girls to the mall. Emery had gotten used to riding in the car but Leighton still sobbed and hated every single second of the ride.

When we arrived at the mall, Leighton was extremely relieved when I sat her on the wheelchair and took her sister's hand as we walked from the parking garage into the first department store. The girls were very particular when they shopped; making sure everything was perfect for Colton. I knew we wouldn't have time to wrap the gifts before we headed to the hospital to deliver the gifts so I took the gifts to a gift wrapping station to be wrapped while we shopped for a small tree, ornaments, and a stocking.

Emery wanted to get Colton a six foot tree, Leighton wanted to get him a twelve foot tree but I convinced them that due to the size of the hospital room the maximum size tree we could probably get would be four feet but after my little girls batted their eyes at me, I compromised with a five foot, multi colored, pre-lit tree. The girls picked out tons of ornaments, more than I was sure could fit and then picked a snowman playing soccer stocking for Colton and insisted on getting Bella a stocking too, one with an angel on it.

I took the tree to the car before heading to pick up the gifts which looked beautiful and made sure that the gifts from Santa were not in the view of my daughters. After everything was loaded in the trunk, we ventured to the hospital. When we got there, Emery pushed the wheelchair holding Leighton while I carried the tree and ornaments and the first bag of gifts which I'm sure if I wasn't a surgeon at the hospital, I could've never snuck past security.

"You two wait here and I'll go see if Colton's ready for some visitors okay?" I offered.

"Okay Daddy, we'll be right here." Emery promised.

I knocked once on the door and peeked my head in. "Mr. Edward?" Colton asked from his bed.

"Hey Colton, are you up for some visitors?" I asked the little boy as I looked to Bella to make sure she was okay with the idea which was confirmed with her nod.

"Yeah okay." He agreed.

"I'll be right back." I told him.

I stepped out of the room, grabbed the tree, ornaments, and presents again and told my girls they could come in. The girls quickly went to Colton, well as quickly as an eight year old girl pushing her six year old sister's wheelchair with one arm could. Bella came over to me and hugged me after I sat the tree down.

"Those better not all be for Colton." She cautioned seeing the very large bag full of about ten presents.

"The rest are in my car." I smiled.

"You said you wouldn't…" She trailed off. "You tricked me! More than you could afford, I should've known." She scolded in a playful manner. The smile on her face gave away that she was actually happy about this. "And that is a pretty big tree, how'd you get it past security?"

"I just walked it right past them, they didn't ask questions." I chuckled.

"Were you serious when you said there were more?" She asked.

"Dead serious." I chuckled.

"Edward." She shook her head.

"He's a kid in the hospital on Christmas, he deserves tons of presents." I defended myself.

"At least let me help you bring them in, your pack mules are not very useful right now." She giggled.

"Girls, Colton, we're going to go get something, one of you get a nurse if anyone needs anything." I told them.

"Kay Daddy." Emery smiled before continuing her conversation with Colton and Leighton.

Bella and I made our way to my car and both took armfuls of bags, making sure we got every last thing and she groaned.

"I don't think all of these were really necessary, I haven't had a chance to get your girls anything." She sighed.

"Don't worry about it, I didn't expect you too. They'll have so much to open tomorrow already they don't need anything else. As for Colton, he needed gifts. I got him some from Santa because I wasn't sure if he still believed or not." I told her.

"He says he does but I'm pretty sure he's faking." She laughed. "I think he says that just to get more presents but he'll be glad to think the trick still worked on me."

"How is he? Did Lau…Dr. Mallory say anything yet about what she thinks could be wrong?" I asked.

"She's still not too sure, she said right now her best solution is going in and placing a pacemaker but she's trying to avoid that." She told me. "She doesn't want to force him to give up contact sports and other things at such a young age and wants to use that as a last ditch effort. I'm surprised that you got her on our case, I've heard rumors there's quite the waiting list for her."

I nodded. "There is, for good reason too. She's amazing at what she does."

"So how'd you get us in so quickly?" Bella asked.

"Well, Lauren and I used to be very close so I asked her for a favor." I told her.

"When you say close?" Bella asked.

"We dated for a while, things just didn't work out." I admitted.

"Rough breakup?" She asked.

"Something like that." I sighed.

"What happened?" She asked curiously.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

"Only if you want to tell me." She smiled.

"We started dating right as I started taking on more responsibilities with work. She was in love with me, I was in love with her, or so I thought. I was so obsessed with my work that I was just not cut out to be a good boyfriend. One day, I got a little drunk and happened to stumble upon Chelsea, my ex-wife. We got to talking and well, I don't even want to go into details about what happened but soon enough I was having to tell Lauren that I had gotten another woman pregnant. She was furious, naturally, but I think she was glad to have a reason to end our relationship. I got better after Chelsea, we moved to Chicago and got married. The death of our first child, a little boy we were going to name Austin was horrible but after we made it through losing a child, I knew she was worth it. I found out what I had with Lauren wasn't love, not really. I tried to apologize but until I moved back here I didn't speak to her again. You probably think I'm a horrible person now and I sort of wish I hadn't told you all that." I admitted.

"I cheated once" Bella admitted. "which is how I got Colton. That's why his Dad is out of the picture, because he was a bum I met at a bar. I don't think you're a horrible person because I understand being in a relationship where you aren't really in love and needing something. I mean I did the same thing but it didn't change my character."

"You really are an incredibly understanding woman." I told her.

"And you really are one of the kindest and most amazing men I've ever met." She smiled.

Our conversation ceased as we entered Colton's room. The kids helped decorate the tree and hang the two stockings. Bella hid the stocking stuffers and Colton's Santa gifts in the closet of the hospital room but put the rest of the gifts under the tree. Emery and Leighton insisted on letting Colton open one of his gifts though, the pajamas they had picked out. They wanted him to open them because they always got to open pajamas on Christmas Eve. After Colton had opened his Nike Soccer pajamas, he looked pretty worn down so I decided to get my girls out so he could leave. It was perfect timing too because by the time we arrived home, everyone was just getting back from ice skating in New York City.

The rest of the day went just like Mom had planned out with the only exception being that Leighton and Emery were both passed out in the back of Dad's car when we got back from church so I woke them for the pajama reveal which also revealed the Disney trip seeing as the pajamas were all Disney, and then went ahead and took them to bed after allowing Rosalie and Alice to get them into their new Disney Christmas pajamas. I considered putting them in the room their cousins would be sleeping in tonight, thinking if they weren't alone that maybe they'd be able to sleep without me but I didn't want them to be embarrassed by waking up with nightmares.

Overall it had been a wonderful Christmas Eve and I found myself excited for Christmas morning.


	10. Chapter 10: Welcome Christmas

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: Merry Freaking Christmas you guys! I've had an insanely busy day and couldn't believe it when I saw it was late. I feel like it was just 6:00 AM again which is what time my little sister woke me up. She hadn't woken anyone else but lunged on my bed, starting jumping on me and my cousin who always shares my room when they come and started yelling "Wake up! Wake up now! Santa came and I want to open my freaking presents! Get up now! Santa came, Santa came!" So I've been up for what seems like ages. I escaped the family claiming I wanted to go get some new use out of my new blu-ray player (and all of the Harry Potter and Twilight movies on blu-ray) and no one should bother me until dinner tonight. So I'm writing one armed, the left one elevated on a pillow as I do so so be happy and accept my Christmas offering. **

**P.S.: I really haven't been pleased with the last two chapters so I know that all of my readers probably aren't either. I usually and very excited to write Christmas chapters in my story because they are so fun but with all the injuries of the girls and the fact that they had just lost their mother sort of made me hold back. Maybe if this story is still going next Christmas it'll be happy chapters but yeah, I tried to add some happy moments.**

**Favorite, Follow, Review, Do All 3, just give me a Christmas gift!**

Chapter 10: Welcome Christmas

I awoke to yelling as my nephews ran through the house saying Santa came. This was a typical Christmas morning at my parents' house. Leighton was the first one of my girls awake beside me and her eyes got huge.

"Daddy, Santa came!" She all but screamed. "Emery, get up! Santa came!"

I chuckled and lifted Leighton from bed to chase after Leighton who started running towards the stairs. Emmett swooped her up before she could try to run down the stairs so she wouldn't fall, laughed and carried her the rest of the way.

When we reached the den, where the stockings were hung on the fireplace and the tree the kids decorated was, it looked like something you'd see on a Christmas card. It looked like hundreds of gifts were under the tree, the stockings were overflowing with candy and little gifts, and my siblings, cousins, and all of their spouses, were sitting still in their pajamas with mugs of coffee watching their children sit bounce anxiously around the tree.

Dad chuckled at his grandchildren as he entered with Mom, both holding sweet rolls smiling at the sight with Uncle Eleazar and Aunt Carmen close behind them. Just a few minutes later, the doorbell rang and Mom got up to greet the cousins who all joined us in the den.

Once everyone was settled, the unwrapping began. Dad settled on helping Leighton while I helped Emery seeing as being one-armed put them at quite a handicap when it came to opening gifts. Piles and piles of toys and clothes began forming throughout the room and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. It looked like Christmas had exploded.

The kids were running around, showing off all their new gifts, the excitement of Christmas not even close to wearing off. Emery instantly dug into her "Berty Botts Every Flavor Beans" and clutched her stuffed Buckbeak to her chest. Leighton was admiring her new tutus and ballet slippers as well as the immense amount of dollhouse furniture and people she'd be given to go with her new Doll House. She informed me this one would be for the mom, dad, and their kids while the other would now be the grandparents.

Leighton also insisted on trying on her new ice skates, well, the one she could with a casted foot. Emery had put on her new soccer cleats and her Red Bulls jersey over her pajama top. She kept her new soccer ball beside her, keeping careful watch on it like it was going to go missing. I knew she missed getting to play outside especially just going out to kick a ball around.

Lucas ran up to me. "Uncle Edward?" He asked.

"Yes buddy?" I asked in return.

He motioned for me to lean in so I did and he whispered in my ear. "Emery looks sad I think she wants to play soccer. Can we go outside and just pass?" He asked.

I contemplated this. As long as the two didn't go too far and do more than passing I figured it would be good for Emery to get some air and do what she loved but there was also the fear that Emery would try and push it and run around and if she slipped and fell she could hurt herself.

"If you're really careful." I finally decided.

"Cool, Emery, come outside and pass with me!" Lucas decided.

"Can I Daddy?" She asked hopefully.

"Only if you're really careful." I told her.

"I will be Daddy! Thank you!" She cheered.

"Both of you put coats on, it's cold!" Mom called after her granddaughters as they began hurrying towards the door.

"I'll go keep an eye on them." Emmett offered though I knew he just wanted to go out and play too.

"Mommy, can I take my new sled out? Winston got one too!" Little Oliver asked Alice hopefully.

"I'll take them out back, we'll be careful." Jasper told his wife. "Madison, do you want to come too?"

"Yeah, can I Mummy?" She asked Renata.

"Only if you and your brother promise to do what Jasper says." She cautioned.

"We will Mummy!" Winston promised.

This left just Logan, Leighton, Jane, and Alec as the children remaining inside but Jane and Alec were more interested in their new iPhones than anything they could do outside.

"Leighton, do you want to play your new game? What is it?" Logan asked his little cousin as he crawled over to where she sat with Carlisle.

"It's a Disney Princess game." Leighton told him happily. "Do you want to play?"

I saw Logan's face drop just slightly but he smiled at his cousin. That child really did have his father's heart. "Sure, you'll have to teach me though."

"Grandpa, will you play too?" Leighton asked as she smiled at her grandfather.

"Of course baby." Carlisle agreed

I couldn't help but admit that I was glad to not be playing the Disney Princess game. I'm sure Leighton would want to play it over and over again.

"I'm going to go get started on lunch." Mom told us and she, Aunt Carmen, and the rest of the women left the room.

Jane decided to play the Princess game with her younger cousins, taking the fourth princess, while Alec decided to go pass the soccer ball outside. Aro, Marcus, and Caius spoke with Eleazar, memories they shared from when they were boys, while Felix and Demetri listened intently. I paid some attention to the conversation while watching Leighton play her game happily.

My phone vibrated and I pulled it out to see a text.

"_You made Colton's Christmas amazing, I think he's forgotten he's even sick. You truly are amazing but I am going to kill you over how much you spent." –Bella_

I chuckled a little. _"He deserved every penny I spent and it was nothing I couldn't afford to spend. After the excitement dies down here, sometime between lunch and dinner when Mom and the other ladies are cooking I'll try and bring the girls to come see him. I bet he would enjoy the company." –Edward_

I waited for a few minutes before the phone rang again. _"You don't have to do that, only if they want to. They should have a chance to play with all their new toys. If you spoil my son so much I can't imagine how much you spoil those angels." –Bella _

"_What can I say, I'm a child spoiler." –Edward_

"_Ha, well, remind me to spoil your girls on their birthdays to make up for all of this." –Bella_

"_You don't have to make up for anything." –Edward _

"_It'll be nice when we get to have the kids together healthy to play for real." –Bella _

"_Does this mean you've fallen in love with New Canaan?" –Edward _

"_We'll talk later." –Bella _

I smiled, just the thought that Bella might live in New Canaan was enough to make me ecstatic. _"I'll call you before we come to visit, who knows, maybe I'll bring some additional family members too." –Edward _

"_Bring 'em on, we can take them." –Bella_

I laughed, catching the attention of the others in the room. "That smile has to be because of a woman." Aro chuckled.

Before I could defend myself Leighton giggled. "It's probably Ms. Bella."

"Who's Bella?" Jane teased.

"Bella, from Chicago?" Dad asked.

I sighed, how did I explain who Bella was to my family? "Yes, she's one of my friends. She's here though, her son is in the hospital." I told him. "I thought Mom would've mentioned it"

"She told me you were going to visit one of the girls' friends and one of your friends in the hospital but not that it was Bella and her son." He told me.

"You're probably going to be called in on Colton's case, it's cardiac, but yeah, the doctors in Chicago weren't making progress with what was wrong so she had him transferred here. Lauren's been treating him." I told my father.

"And Bella is just a friend?" Jane laughed.

"I bet she's a girlfriend. He's making the face Lucas make when he has a girlfriend and doesn't want Mom and Dad to know." Logan laughed.

"Watch it Logan, I just might have to take your present back." I cautioned, half joking, half seriously.

"I think it's great if Ms. Bella is Daddy's girlfriend." Leighton told everyone loudly.

"Girlfriend?" I heard Emery ask, hurt and betrayal in her tone.

I cringed as I turned to look at her. "Emery, sweetheart, that's not…" I began but she ran towards the stairs, tripping as she did so.

She cried as she hit the ground and I got up to help her but she shook her head. "Leave me alone!" She yelled.

"Emery, please." I tried.

"How could you?" She snapped.

"Emery…" I tried again.

"No! Leave me alone!" She yelled.

"Emery, baby, come here, come sit with Grandpa." Dad tried as he looked up.

She shook her head. "Can I at least look at your arm Pumpkin?" I asked.

"Don't call me that!" She snapped. "Just leave me alone."

"Emery, come on, let's go in the other room and I'll take a look at your arm." Emmett told her.

She nodded and let him lift her from the ground. Bones were part of his specialty so I knew he'd make sure Emery was still okay. I was really tempted to follow the pair but I thought Emery might need some space and time to calm down before I explained to her that Bella and I were not boyfriend and girlfriend.

"I'm sorry Edward; I shouldn't have joked like that. I didn't think about it." Jane apologized.

"It's not your fault, she's just very sensitive right now and I haven't quite figured out what triggers her to be upset." I assured her.

"Daddy, why is Emery mad about it though? Ms. Bella is really nice and she would be a good girlfriend." Leighton told me.

"She isn't my girlfriend Princess; she's just a good friend. I think your sister is upset because she doesn't want anyone to replace your Mommy but no one ever could." I told my little one.

"I miss her Daddy. I wish I could call her and tell her Merry Christmas like I always did." She whispered as tears welled in her eyes.

"I know you do Princess." I sighed as I moved over to her and pulled her in my arms.

"I never get to do that again do I Daddy? Call her or talk to her or anything." She asked as tears rolled down her rosy cheeks.

"No baby, I know it's hard but it'll get easier with time." I told her.

"Is it okay to be sad?" She asked quietly.

"Of course Princess, it's more thank okay to be sad." I promised as I kissed the top of her head.

"Daddy?" She asked nervously.

"Yes baby?" I asked.

"Why'd she have to die?" She asked. I noticed a few of the family members getting up to head to the kitchen, discretely so they wouldn't make Leighton feel bad, but leaving to give us privacy. Jane had tears in her eyes as she and Logan left and headed towards the play room. It was just me, my father, and Leighton in the room now.

"I don't know Princess, sometimes it's just time for a person to leave Earth and go up to Heaven." I admitted.

"It's not fair." She cried.

"I know Princess." I sighed.

"I want her back." She cried again.

"I know Princess." I repeated.

"I don't have a Mommy." She cried.

I didn't know what else to do so I just rocked her in my arms, Carlisle sighed as he watched us, tears threatening to fall from his blue eyes as he watched his granddaughter.

"Your Mommy will always be your mommy little one, even if she can't physically be there, she'll always be in your heart, she'll always be the person that held you and sang to you and gave birth to you. She'll always be your mommy, everyday forever." My father told her.

"Grandpa my heart hurts." She told him.

"Come here baby." He offered his arms out to her which she gladly took.

"You're a heart doctor Grandpa, make my heart stop hurting." She cried.

"I wish I could baby, I wish I could fix this kind of hurting heart but I can't. I wish I could take all the pain away from you but I can't baby, all I can do is hold you." He told her.

"I like it when you hold me." Leighton told him. "Don't let go Grandpa."

"Never." My father told her.

Once I was sure Leighton was calming down I made my way to find Emmett and Emery. They were both sitting in the sun room, Jasper had joined them.

"Go away." She mumbled when she saw me.

I shook my head. "We need to talk about this."

"We'll leave you to it." Jasper offered but Emery clung to Emmett's hand.

"Uncle Emmett, stay with me please?" She asked.

"Okay kid." My brother agreed.

I sighed and took a seat on the couch across from my daughter and brother. "Ms. Bella is not my girlfriend." I began. "I'm sorry you heard everyone teasing me about it but she isn't sweetheart. Even if she was she could never replace your mother, you know that right?" I asked.

"Not even if you got married to her?" She asked

"Not even then." I disagreed.

"What is Ms. Bella then?" She asked curiously.

"She's a very good friend of mine sweetie, she and Colton are going through a similar situation to us and she's been trying to give me some advice." I told her.

"So she doesn't want to replace Mommy?" She asked.

"Of course not sweetheart, no one could ever replace your mother." I told her.

"Can we go see Colton today then? He's really nice and he should have a friend on Christmas." She decided.

"You read my mind Pumpkin." I smiled.

Soon after my conversations with my girls was complete, Alice and Rosalie helped them into some normal clothes and out of pajamas and then we all sat down for lunch and after lunch, Leighton, Emery, and I sat out for the hospital, Carlisle wanting to come along as well so he could check on one of his future patients.

Carlisle and the girls stayed with Colton and began playing monopoly while Bella and I left to talk

"When Colton lost his father, did he fear someone replacing him?" I asked.

Bella sighed. "It was more complicated than that." She admitted.

"How so?" I asked trying to understand the situation.

"Well, Colton's Dad and his biological father were two completely different people. Both of those men are dead now, both due to very different circumstances." She began. "Colton's biological father, he was put in jail for a DUI when Colton was just a little kid. He got out, the next time he was driving under the influence he crashed into a telephone poll, died on impact. Colton didn't even know that his biological father is not the man that was a Dad to him until his dad died. Colton's Dad, was a boyfriend of mine named Nick. He and I started dating when Colton was just two years old, he moved in with us a year later. When Colton was about seven, Nick was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. He fought and he fought hard but six months later he died, the cancer won. I guess Colton never really feared someone replacing his father because about a month after Nick died Colton found out Nick wasn't his father in the first place. He was a smart kid, figured it out on his own, put two and two together on a lot of facts he knew. He was furious with me for not telling him sooner but I didn't want to tell a young boy that his Dad wasn't his father. I guess the reason he never feared someone replacing his Dad was because his Dad was a replacement dad in the first place. That probably made no sense at all but it was complicated."

"I understand." I told her.

"Why do you ask?" She offered.

"Well, Jane, my younger 17 year old cousin jokingly called you my girlfriend and Emery overheard and she got insanely angry. All hell broke loose after that, I think some good did come out of it though, I think Leighton got to grieve some which is something she needed." I told her.

"Have you looked into grief counseling for the girls?" Bella asked.

"I've kind of been ignoring it for now, promising myself to look into it after Christmas." I told her.

"I think it would do the girls a world of good." She told me.

"The only problem is there aren't any good child psychiatrists or child therapists in New Canaan trust me, we've been looking for one at the practice for years." I laughed.

"I could talk to them sometime." She offered.

"I couldn't ask you to do that with Colton so sick." I disagreed.

"Okay, well how about as soon as he's better we test out a few sessions? They don't even have to think of them as appointments, it could just be like two friends talking." She assured me.

"Won't you be going back to Chicago?" I asked.

"That brings us to what I was going to tell you." She smiled. "I was thinking that maybe a move could do us some good and I've sort of fallen in love with this city. It's not official yet and it still may not happen but I want to and Colton wants to too."

"Well I for one would love to have you here all the time." I told her.

"We'll see what happens." She decided.

After I spent some time with Colton, Dad, the girls, and I headed home. It was just time for dinner and after that we all watched some movies as a family and then put the kids back to bed. It was truly an amazing Christmas and I was sad it was over but I knew that now I could focus solely on helping my daughters heal.


	11. Chapter 11: Beautiful Mess

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: Most of the AN is being saved for the end but just for now, this chapter is sort of weird but I needed to fix the girls up some and then mess them up too but anyway, yeah, the AN will be at the end.**

Chapter 11: Beautiful Mess

The days following Christmas came and went, and then on New Year's Eve, during the day, Bella called to tell me that Colton was getting to go home. My father and Lauren together had finally come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan for Colton. Tanya had operated, and now Colton had healed. He'd be on medication all of his life and would have to regularly see a cardiologist, but he'd be able to live a happy and healthy life filled with the sports he loved to play.

The girls and I were still staying with my parents but I wasn't about to let Bella travel with Colton back to Chicago so I had asked if she and Colton could join us at my parent's for awhile. Carlisle and Esme, who had fallen in love with Colton, were eager to agree. So now the usually quiet household of two that was normally only loud if the grandchildren were over was filled with two more adults and three injured children. Another new thing were the "sessions" Bella had with my girls, twice a week. Leighton and Bella would talk on Mondays and Wednesdays, Emery with Bella on Tuesdays and Fridays. The girls would tell her things they were afraid to tell me, or just didn't want to, or that's what I assumed seeing as Bella wanted the girls to have the same confidentiality her patients had. The girls just seemed happier, maybe not exactly happier but definitely more relieved. It was like part of the enormous weight that had been forced on them was being lifted, little by little, day by day, I was starting to get my Princess and my Pumpkin back.

Today marked January 7th, the day I'd take the girls to various medical appointments in New York City. Jasper had told me to take the girls to one of his medical school friends, Maria, in New York. He told me she was straight forward and to the point but an excellent pediatric orthopedic surgeon. She was first on our list. After Maria came the pulmonologist, Charlotte, then the neurologist, Maggie, then finally, the plastic surgeon to check on Emery's facial fractures, Benjamin. Other than Maria, I knew all the other doctors personally from medical school.

I got both of my girls in the car and began the drive to the city. Leighton's usual sobs had improved to whimpers and though she still hated car rides, she would endure them without too much of a fuss. Emery helped with this, she found that singing could distract Leighton, or so she claims. I theorize that it distracts her as well. So both of the girls enjoy singing Disney songs loudly on car rides but I would much rather hear my girls singing than sobbing.

We arrived at Pediatric Orthopedics of New York just about three hours after getting in the car. I helped Leighton in her wheel chair and made sure that Emery was close behind me as I walked in the front door. I signed the girls in with the receptionist and then we sat and waited. Emery had brought a book along for the trip, the fifth Harry Potter book, so she began quietly reading in the chair beside me. Leighton hadn't brought anything but enjoyed playing with my phone, Candy Crush to be exact. She always beat my high scores, something Bella teased me about, but if my phone could keep my child entertained for a day, I figured it was worth Bella making fun of me.

We only waited about ten minutes before a nurse came to get us. She led us to an exam room and lifted Emery onto the table while I lifted Leighton. I sat on the chair meant for parents and waited for endless questions to be asked; when did this happen, how did this happen, has anything happened since then, has the swelling gone down, has the bruising gone down, what is the pain like today, what was the pain like a few days ago, the questions were endless.

Once she was finally satisfied with every little piece of information, she told me that she was going to remove the casts on both girls and get scans. Leighton didn't like the look of the cast saw so Emery offered to go first. She was still a little frightened though, I could tell it in her eyes.

"It won't hurt sweetheart, it's just like when you cut paper, she's going to cut the cast off." I told her gently.

"Will you hold my hand just in case?" She asked nervously.

"Of course Pumpkin." I agreed.

I held onto Emery's good hand and then Leighton's good hand seeing as the noise had her quite frightened as well and waited as the nurse maneuvered the cast off.

"My arm looks funny." Emery told me.

She was right; she had lost a lot of muscle just in the three weeks since the accident. I couldn't quite tell the amount of swelling due to the loss of muscle in her arm but it didn't look so bad on first glance.

"Keep that still okay? We'll get some x-rays after I remove your sister's casts." The nurse told Emery.

"Okay." She agreed as she studied her arm intently.

"Ready Princess?" I asked Leighton.

"It doesn't hurt, does it Emery?" Leighton asked nervously.

"No, it just sort of tickles." Emery promised.

"Okay I'm ready." Leighton told the nurse.

The nurse removed Leighton's arm cast first, she hadn't lost as much muscle but she also hadn't had as much muscle to lose. Her leg though, she had lost quite a bit of muscle in it. I knew she would need quite a bit of physical therapy to completely regain full function of her leg.

I helped the nurse get my girls to radiology for the new set of scans and was given a led apron to wear so I could stay in with Leighton who did not like how scary the big machines looked. Once both girls had all of their scans, the nurse led us back to the room and told us that Dr. Sanchez, or Maria as I knew her, would be in shortly to discuss what they showed.

"Do you think we get to keep any casts off today?" Emery asked me with a hint of excitement in her voice.

"I don't know Pumpkin, I hope so." I told her.

"Me too, those things are itchy." She told me.

I chuckled and was about to respond but a knock on the door stopped me. The small Hispanic woman Jasper had described walked into the room with a slight smile on her face but also with a sense of professionalism. I figured the smile was to try and reassure the children but the way she kept that professional look was because she meant business.

"Hello girls, my name is Dr. Maria, I'm the bone doctor." She introduced herself. "You must be Dr. Cullen; it's nice to meet you."

"Please, call me Edward." I told her as I shook her hand.

"Well, I've looked over the scans and I'd like to go over what I've found with you all." She told me.

"Do I get to lose my cast?" Emery asked hopefully.

"Actually, yes. Emery, your elbow is completely healed, something quite impressive for how much damage it took. You'll have to wear the sling for a few more weeks until your collarbone heals but you won't need another plaster cast. You'll also have to do some physical therapy as soon as your collarbone is healed so your arm can be back to perfect." She told my daughter causing Emery to smile widely, dimples and all.

"Really?" She asked excitedly.

"Yes, really." Maria smiled a little. "That doesn't mean you don't still have to be careful though, your arm isn't as strong and won't be until you finish up physical therapy. So Dad, that means no contact sports, no doing anything that could potentially re-injure her arm until she gets the all clear from me and no running around until after her next appointment when I'll be able to tell if her collarbone is completely healed."

"So no soccer Pumpkin, not yet at least." I told her.

"Definitely not." Maria agreed.

Emery put her little lip out in an adorable pout for a second, but only a second, before smiling happily again. "Okay." She agreed.

"What about Leighton?" I asked. "How's she doing."

"Well, Leighton, your elbow, like your sister's, is better. Your wrist is healing nicely but I'd say it'll be another three weeks until we can move from a cast to a brace. You'll have a smaller cast though and you'll be able to move your elbow some and will be able to start physical therapy sometime this week." Maria explained

"What happens in physical therapy?" Leighton asked.

"Well, they'll help you get your elbow back to normal, and after the other casts come off, they'll do the same for your wrist and your leg." Maria explained.

"What about her leg?" I asked knowing that legs healed slower than arms did.

"Her femur has at least another three weeks, probably more around five though. I think we can move to a straight leg cast though so she can try and move on crutches instead of the chair. Her leg if her femur wasn't broken would only need a cast for about another week and then we'd move into a walking boot but since her femur will need to remain casted I think we'll just keep the whole leg in a cast until everything is all healed up and then we'll go from there. The swelling in her leg is a bit more than I'd like to see, especially around her knee so I want to get an MRI of her knee to be safe. Sometimes because there is so much trauma involved with broken legs, especially broken femurs, hospitals overlook knee injuries. I'm going to do a quick exam to make sure I think she still needs an MRI but I'm pretty sure she will and if she does I can have her in sometime this afternoon, probably in about four hours." Maria explained.

"That's right during Emery's appointment with the plastic surgeon, can it wait until tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well, in theory yes, but for the MRI there needs to be no cast on her leg so I would be more comfortable having it today. I'm going to splint her leg because that can be taken off easier than a cast, and then we'll recast after the MRI as long as nothing is torn. If something is we'll splint again and talk options." Maria told me.

"I'll call my parents and see if one of them can meet us and take Leighton for the MRI while I take Emery to her appointment." I told her.

She nodded. "I'll be right back with a nurse to cast Leighton's wrist while I splint her leg. I'm also going to get a new sling for Emery; hers is just a hair to large for my liking."

I nodded and watched as she left the room. I got to work calling my parents, neither answered. My next thought was Bella but she wasn't technically family so she wouldn't be able to consent to the MRI and there was also the fact that Colton was still being ordered to stay in bed and rest. I settled on Jasper next, seeing as he had today off.

"_Whatever it is, no." _He answered the phone.

"_Not even for your sweet little niece?" _I asked.

"_Oh sorry Edward, I saw an E and Cullen and assumed it was Emmett. He's been trying to get me to prank your Dad at work with him for weeks now and no matter what I tell him he is persistent. What do you need?" _He asked.

I chuckled a bit, sounded like Emmett. _"I need someone to go with Leighton to get an MRI of her knee while I take Emery to see the plastic surgeon. Maria thinks she might have something torn. Mom and Dad didn't answer but if you can't I can keep calling the family, there's enough of us that I'm sure someone can." _

"_I'm actually in the city already so I'm your guy." _He chuckled.

"_What are you doing in the city?" _I asked curiously.

"_Oliver went back to preschool today so Alice wanted to go shopping. This is actually sort of perfect, I've been trying to escape since this started and well, you know how your sister can be." _He sighed.

"_Jasper Hale, you better not say one thing about not wanting to shop with me!" _I heard Alice in the background followed by muffled talking which I knew was Jasper explaining what I had asked.

"_Alice and I will be there whenever you need us but her condition is that she gets to take the girls to Macy's if they're up to it." _He told me.

I laughed. _"Alright, well I'm not sure exactly on the time yet but the girls see the pulmonologist in half an hour and then Leighton sees the neurologist in about two and a half hours so you could meet us at Maggie Benedict's office in three hours." _

"_I know where that is, sounds like a plan." _He told me.

As soon as I hung up the phone, Maria and a nurse came back in the room. Maria got to work splinting Leighton's leg while the nurse casted her arm and then put the new sling on Emery's arm. Maria told me the appointment for the MRI would be in exactly four hours. I thanked her, set up Emery's follow up, though I couldn't set up Leighton's yet without the MRI results, and then my girls and I made our way to the next appointment.

We didn't luck out too much on the time it took to see the pulmonologist but we did luck out in the fact that both girls lungs were doing better than expected at this point of healing and Charlotte told me they should be perfect in just two weeks but wanted to see them in three to make sure. We made our way to office number three for Leighton's neurologist appointment. By the time we were being called back, Jasper and Alice had arrived and told Emery she could wait with them if she wanted.

Leighton got a CT scan and an excellent report from Maggie and then I sent her with Jasper and Alice while I took Emery to see Benjamin. He had been one of my best friends through medical school seeing as he was my roommate so it was good to catch up even given the circumstances. He gave us the only bad news we had been given all day, the way Emery's nose had healed she wasn't able to breathe very well through her nose. She'd need another surgery to remove her adenoids to solve the problem, a simple procedure that he would perform in six weeks.

Emery was a little bummed by the news but I told her Aunt Alice wanted to take her shopping and that Macy's was having a sale on athletic clothing so she perked up some. We met back up with Jasper, Alice, and Leighton soon afterwards at Maria's office. We sat in Maria's personal office instead of an exam room this time and Jasper held my sniffling daughter.

"They had to give her a shot of contrast for the scan." Alice told me.

"Aunt Alice said it wouldn't hurt." Leighton cried.

"I didn't know they were going to use contrast." Alice mumbled.

"Oh sweetheart, I'm sure Aunt Alice didn't mean to lie to you." I sighed.

"Maria should be in with the results in a few minutes." Jasper told me.

"Shouldn't one of you be getting Oliver?" I asked realizing it was 3:30.

"Rosalie is watching him for us until we get back." Jasper explained.

I watched with the slightest bit of humor as my sister tried to make amends with my daughter unsuccessfully a few times before giving up and settling with bribery of ice cream and four new outfits from Macy's. This, of course, mad Leighton very happy and she was soon in Alice's lap instead of Jasper's.

Maria entered her office soon after the switch and had a small frown on her lips. "Something's torn isn't it?" I asked.

She nodded. "I was expecting a torn ACL but instead it's a torn ACL, torn LCL, and a torn meniscus." She sighed. "I'll want to operate sometime either this or next week."

"Operate?" Leighton asked as her lip began to tremble.

"Oh baby, it's okay." Alice told her as she kissed the top of her head. "It's all going to be fine."

"Your auntie is right little one; I'm going to make your knee good as new." Maria told Leighton with the most gentleness I had heard from her all day.

"People die in surgery." She mumbled. "Mommy died in surgery."

Emery stood up angrily from the chair she had been in and left the office. "I've got this." Jasper told me as he followed her.

I exhaled, thinking for a moment before I took Emery from Alice. "Princess, you aren't going to die."

"Mommy did." She cried.

"It's different Princess, your Mommy wasn't hurt somewhere like her knee, she was hurt in her head, belly, and her heart." I tried to explain.

"I don't want it, I don't want surgery." Leighton cried.

I felt like we had taken about ten steps back in the progress she had made so far, I wish Bella was here to tell me what to do but she wasn't. it was up to me to comfort my daughter, no one could help, I didn't have my best friend that happened to be a child psychiatrist with me this time.

"Leighton, your Daddy is right, I do this kind of surgery at least once a week, all you do is go to sleep and then wake-up, it's like dreaming." Maria tried.

"I don't like my dreams." Leighton cried.

"Princess, you've got to get this done, if you don't your knee might be hurt forever. You wouldn't be able to dance or ice skate or anything, you want to do those things again don't you?" I asked.

"Yes but I'm so scared Daddy." She mumbled.

"I know Princess but I'm going to be there when you fall asleep and when you wake up, you won't be alone." I told her.

"I have an opening next Friday." Maria told me. "At 8:00 AM, you'd have to be at the hospital at 6:00. I know you live in New Canaan and I have privileges there so I could operate there to make this a little easier."

"That would be great, thank you." I told her.

"I'll gather together the pre-op and post-op instructions for you to go over." She told me. "I'll be back."

"Daddy." Leighton whimpered.

"I know baby, I know how scary this is but I'm going to take care of you." I promised.

She sniffled and nodded. After everything was in order and I had all the various instructions for before and after Leighton's surgery, it was time to go. Emery had perked up and still wanted to shop with Alice but Leighton was clinging to me, tears still falling from her sweet little eyes. Jasper offered to drive us back to in my car and let Alice stay and shop with Emery. He wanted a guys night with Oliver anyway so it worked out well.

Leighton was so upset that her usual whimpers on car rides turned back into sobs and I had to practically hold her the whole way back home. I decided to see if Bella could talk to Leighton while I took Jasper back to his house knowing that I didn't know what else to do to comfort Leighton but that Bella did.

I carried Leighton inside, telling Jasper I'd be back, and made my way to the kitchen where Esme was cooking with Bella and Colton appeared to be the taster.

"Bella." Leighton cried reaching her arms for her.

"What happened?" Bella asked as she took Leighton from my arms.

"Well, Leighton's going to have to have some surgery on her knee and she's a little nervous." I sighed.

Okay nervous was an understatement, Leighton was terrified, but I didn't want to upset Leighton by saying anything she might not like.

"Oh baby, do you want to talk?" Bella asked.

"Not yet." Leighton disagreed as she held onto Bella.

"Edward, a word?" Mom offered.

I nodded and followed her from the kitchen. "Mom I don't know what else to do. She won't let me reassure her." I sighed.

"I know, I'm sure you've done all you know to do. Let Bella handle this, she is more than capable." She told me. "I have an idea."

"Okay, what's that?" I asked.

"Well, why don't you let Bella and I have a girls' night with Leighton and Emery, wait, where is Emery?" She asked.

"With Alice in the city shopping, Alice promised to have her home at 10:00." I told her.

"Okay, why don't you let Bella and I have a girls' night with Leighton then. Bella can talk to Leighton and calm her down while I finish up on dinner. You go ahead and take Colton with you to the office and suggest to your father that you all go to the indoor batting cages, seeing as it's too cold for the outdoor ones. That little boy misses sports and the batting cage won't stress his heart, check with your father first seeing as I'm no cardiologist but I'm sure especially with your father going with you two, it would be completely fine. The three of you can go get some pizza or burgers afterwards, I think Colton would really enjoy having a guys' day and just getting out of the house." She told me.

"I'll talk to Bella but do you really think I should leave Leighton while she's like this?" I asked.

"Don't take this the wrong way but I think it might be good for her. She's probably a little upset with you, not over anything you did or didn't do but just because you were there when she received the news." She told me.

I sighed. "I guess so."

"Go talk to Bella and then Colton. I've got to get back to the spaghetti sauce before it burns." She told me.

I took Esme's advice, asked Bella if I could take Colton out, which she gladly agreed to, and then talked to Colton. He was ecstatic and I had to remind him not to run as he took off towards the stairs.

Once Colton came back down in some jeans and a hoodie with his new baseball glove, we set out to the car. After I dropped Jasper off, I headed to the office to get my father. I figured we'd go get his car on the way home. I led Colton through the staff door and towards Dad's office.

Dad sat behind his desk doing paperwork, glancing up at us as we entered. "What a surprise, what are you two doing here?"

"We thought you might want to go to the batting cages with us." I told him.

"Let me just finish up this last chart and we can head on over." Dad smiled.

"Do you want to go look around?" I asked Colton. "I can give you the unofficial tour of the place."

"Yeah, cool." He agreed.

I showed Colton the different types of exam rooms, his favorites were the five Jasper and Emmett had for their patients because they were decorated with all types of sports posters and pictures. After we finished up on the tour, we got in the car and I drove us to the batting cages. I bought tickets and Dad and I found the right size and weight bat for Colton before claiming a batting cage.

Colton was a fair hitter, even with the pitches set on medium. After he hit a homerun he told me he wanted to see how I did it. I switched places with him, Colton taking my seat by Dad, and prepared to hit. I hit four homeruns in a row.

"Edward?" Colton asked as I handed the bat to my old man to go hit some.

"Yes pal?" I asked as I sat beside him on the small bleachers.

"Will you teach me how you do that?" He asked. "The homeruns I mean?"

"Of course." I agreed.

I joined Colton in the batting cage after Dad finished up and held the bat with him. The trick was the angle of your shoulders and the follow through, so to speak, of the bat. After I helped him hit a few homeruns in a row, the kid was a champ and hit quite a few back to back on his own.

"I've never been that consistent before." He told me. "That's really cool, where'd you learn that?"

I pointed towards Dad. "He used to be quite the pro at baseball, one day; he took me and Emmett to a batting cage and showed us that trick. I wasn't as good as you though, I had to practice a lot but I finally got it."

"Did you play?" Colton asked me.

"I did, for a very long time." I agreed.

"Why did you stop?" He asked.

"I hurt me knee, I couldn't get it back afterwards, not the speed at least." I explained.

"Do Emery and Leighton ever come here?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Leighton only dances and skates, Emery does about ever sport aside from baseball and softball."

"Maybe we can come here again." Colton decided.

"I think that's a great idea." I agreed. "Now, how about some dinner, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, what do you want?" He asked me.

"Whatever you want, some pizza or burgers maybe?" I suggested.

"Can we get burgers?" He asked.

"Sure, there's this great place Emmett and I always went with Dad after the batting cages, let's go there." I suggested.

"Okay." He smiled.

Dad, Colton, and I drove to "Burger Place" the restaurant that we always came to on guys' night when I was younger. We ordered some milk shakes, burgers, fries, and three cokes. I hadn't seen Colton so happy since we showed up with presents back on Christmas Eve. He really was having a wonderful time.

After dinner, I got a text from Bella. _"Emery just got back from shopping with your sister. Your mother and I aren't quite finished with girls' night. We're going to watch chick flicks with your daughters and eat ice cream so if there is anything else you want to do while you are out go ahead and do it." –Bella._

"Colton, we've got some time to kill, can you think of anything at all you've been wanting to do?" I asked him.

"There's the new Hobbit movie." He told me. "Have you seen the others?"

"I have but not the new one, do you want to go see it?" I asked.

"Yeah." He smiled.

"Do you need to get back? I know you have work tomorrow." I told my father.

"You could just drop me off at the practice on your way to the theater." Dad told me.

"_I'm stealing your son to go see the new Hobbit movie with me, we'll be late getting back." –Edward _

I took Dad back to the practice to get his car and then Colton and I made our way to the theater. We bought popcorn, candy, and drinks and then I let Colton pick the seats. He chose right where I would've chosen, dead center of the middle aisle.

After the movie, we made our way back to my parent's house. "The girls are asleep already Colton, I'll be up to tuck you in soon but don't wake them up." Bella told her son.

"Okay Mom." He agreed.

After Colton left I smiled at Bella. "You told Colton not to wake the girls when he went to bed. He's been sleeping on one of the beds in the grandkid room which means you got the girls to sleep in their own beds?" I asked.

"Call me a miracle worker, or God, either will do." She laughed.

"You really are a miracle worker, how'd you do it?" I asked.

"After the movie, your mother and I took them up to bed, your mother hummed some soft lullabies to them, and we sat with them until they fell asleep." She told me. "Now, I don't promise they will stay in their own beds all night but it is a start."

"You really are amazing, you know that?" I asked.

She giggled. "How about you tell me more about how amazing I am after I put Colton to bed?" and then she winked, a tiny little wink with a smug little smirk, but a sexy little wink and smirk.

After that, things were sort of a blur. The next thing I knew I was panting in bed beside Bella, both of us sweaty and naked.

"We should talk about this." I mumbled.

"Let's not talk, not now, let's just enjoy the moment." She whispered.

And so I did, I enjoyed the moment. I held Bella's beautiful naked body close to mine and fell asleep, praying to God none of our kids would wake and need us during the night.

**AN: So wow, this was longer than expected. I don't know what happened to make me have Edward and Bella hook up. I'm currently working on a detailed love scene between them to put as an outtake one-shot so be on the lookout but I thought since it was a T story and wasn't in the romance category necessarily I shouldn't include all the dirty details of the hook up. Keep checking my profile to find the one-shot but I think it'll be up later tonight or sometime tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you guys in chapter 12!**


	12. Chapter 12: Falling Fast

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: So this chapter is a bit shorter than I would like but that's because I took about 1,500 words from the end and put it in a document for chapter 13. If there are typos or things that don't make sense it's because I wrote this while I was exhausted but anyway, read it, review it, do whatever you want. **

**P.S.: I'm offering a gift to you guys, if my reviews can get up to 65 sometime tomorrow, I'll post the outtake. If not, I'll probably still post the outtake just not as quickly. Lemons are hard to right so to anyone that is a pro at lemon scenes, you are amazing and you should message me to help because it is really hard to write lemon scenes. Anyway, here's chapter 12, enjoy!**

Chapter 13: Falling Fast

I woke up early the next morning due to some loud shuffling around the bedroom. Bella was currently clothing herself and the reality of last night hit me.

"Are we going to talk about this right now?" I asked.

"Definitely not." She disagreed.

"Are we ever going to talk about this?" I sighed.

"Yes, just, I need time to gather my thoughts." She shook her head like she was trying to clear it.

"Are you angry with me?" I asked nervously.

"Angry…you think I'm angry with you?" She asked stopping her motions of buttoning her jeans. "I'm not angry, that's just the first time I've had sex in over a year so I'm a little…flustered is all."

"Does this change everything between us?" I mumbled with a bit of fear in tone.

She paused and looked at me. "No, well, yes, but not the negative way you're thinking. I guess now our feelings for each other are out in the open but we can't pursue those feelings, not yet. It wouldn't be good for any of the children, they need to heal more. Think about how Emery reacted to the mere thought of you having a girlfriend, she needs time to heal from that before she's ready for you to be in a relationship. Leighton, well, I don't see her having a problem with it, not right away or on the outside at least. She would be happy even if she really wasn't which would make her bottle up her emotions and become a ticking time bomb. As for Colton, well, I'm not sure how he'd react, he's a pretty complex kid, like an onion that you have to peel back layer by layer to figure out what he's actually feeling, but this can't happen yet."

"So are we going to just pretend like this never happened?" I asked her.

"In front of other people, yes, in front of each other and only each other, I don't know." She told me. "I mean, last night was amazing, don't get my wrong, but imagine if Emery or Leighton had woken in the middle of the night and wondered in here and found us in bed together. We can't do things like this with the kids around; they're too smart and mischievous for that."

"So what are we?" I asked.

"I don't know, for now, friends? Maybe more than that, I don't know." She mumbled.

"What do you want to be?" I asked her.

"What I want to be can't happen for at least a few months so it is irrelevant." She sighed.

"I think it happens to be very relevant." I shook my head. "Tell me, please, I want to know."

"If it were up to me, if it was just the two of us, no kids that need us, then I'd want to be a couple, but it's not really up to me and it's not just about you and me, this decision affects more than the two of us." She sighed.

"So where do we go from here?" I asked.

"Well, I guess we could be exclusive but not necessarily a couple. I know it sounds selfish but I really don't want you sleeping around, that probably sounds like entirely too much to ask but…" She trailed off.

"Trust me, after last night, I never want to sleep with any woman other than you." I assured her.

"Was I that good?" She asked.

"Better." I chuckled.

"We can't do this so close to the kids again, maybe if they weren't home or if we were to go for a little getaway but we can't go for a getaway without seeming suspicious so it'll just have to be complicated for now." She sighed.

"I can deal with complicated." I nodded.

"Can we move on to a different topic? I had been wanting to talk to you about this last night but well, that didn't happen." She laughed.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" I asked.

"First, put on some pants, I can't sit here and talk to you about what I want to talk to you about while you're still naked." She ordered.

I chuckled but did as she requested and put on some sweat pants and a t-shirt. "Better?" I asked.

"Much." She nodded. "Now, what I wanted to talk to you about is getting back to your life."

"I'm not following." I shook my head.

"Well, eventually, the girls are going to have to go back to school and you're going to have to go back to work, the same goes for me and for Colton. I don't think you could get the girls into school in the middle of the school year, even if you could I don't think that would be good for them. I think you should consider hiring a tutor to get the girls caught up with the other kids their age because the longer you wait the further they get behind and as of right now, they're only a day behind. Now comes the part about you. The girls need to learn to be less reliant on you for everything because they aren't going to be around you every minute of every day so you need to gradually head back to work. Start with working half days every other day for about a week or so, move on to half days every day for a week, then do full days for half the week and half days for the rest, then eventually, full days everyday again. The girls won't like it at first, they'll cry, they'll ask you not to leave but you'll get past that, you'll be able to ignore their cries, you'll have to. Your mother and I can watch them because I'm not going back to work when you do simply because I think that would be a little too much on the girls and your mother would have to deal with three injured kids alone and I don't want to force that on her. After you get back into the habit of work and after the girls both have their surgeries and have recovered, you need to get them back to your house and used to sleeping there, of course, you can bring them to your mother in the mornings to watch them while you are at work but you'll need to eventually move back to your house. Maybe you could wait until summer, to make things easier." She told me.

I thought about this, as much as I didn't want to leave the girls I knew that Bella was right. We needed to move on with our lives, we couldn't just keep living like this forever. The thing I wasn't too sure about was moving back home with my girls, losing the help my parents offered with them. Then there was the question of, where would Bella go? Would she stay at my parents? Would she move in with me? Would she find a place of her own?

"When do you suggest I start going back to work?" I asked using the easiest question on my mind first.

"You should go in next Tuesday and Thursday. Leighton's surgery is next Friday so you'll be with her that following Monday but you could go in Wednesday and Friday. The next week, you could go in everyday, and so on but you'll just need to see how quickly the girls adjust to the change." She told me.

"The moving thing, I understand that we need to move back to my house, I mean, I want to, but I'm afraid of trying to do everything on my own again, the cooking, cleaning, bathing, everything. Where would you go? Would you stay here, find somewhere else, come with me?" I asked.

"Well, you've got to summer to worry about all of that, so do I." She told me. "I'm hoping to find a job here eventually, right now though, your girls are my mission."

I decided to wait and mention that we'd been looking for a child psychiatrist for a long time and just nodded. "Is this change going to totally freak them out?" I asked.

"Last night wasn't just a girls' night Edward, it was a test run so to speak, to see if your mother and I could handle the girls and if they could handle being away from you. A lot of times, after children lose a parent, they are terrified of losing the other. Leighton was so worried about her surgery she didn't focus on that very much but the fact that she actually went to bed for us and didn't just insist on sitting up waiting on you to come home was a very good sign. We had to reassure Emery at first, tell her that you were going to be fine and that you were a phone call or a text away, but she came through. Last night proved to me that the girls are ready to start moving on with their lives." She told me. "Speaking of last night, I don't think I've seen Colton that happy in a very long time."

"It was nice to get to go to the batting cages for once, my girls hate them." I chuckled. "He's a great kid, he really is Bella. You did a wonderful job raising him, you should be proud."

"I can't take the credit for him though." She sighed.

"I know that you feel guilty Bella, I see it every day when you're with him. I'm the only one that notices because I'm the only one you shared how you felt about getting too caught up with work, I see how when Colton does something you didn't know he could do how you just feel guilty. You think that all these other people practically raised your son for you but that's not what I see. I see so much of you in Colton, I see it when he speaks, when he smiles, the way he interacts with people, whether you meant to or not, you raised him to be like you and that is a very good thing. He's a rare gem Bella, just like you, and you did that. You did that and no one else so today is the day you stop feeling guilty about getting obsessed with work. Today is the day you accept that you raised a wonderful boy. Today is the day that I help you with something Bella Swan." I told her. She giggled. "What, was I too cliché? Too high school boy in a cheesy teen romance movie?"

"No, not that." She laughed.

"Alright, you're going to have to dumb this down for me, my male brain can't comprehend why you're finding my pep talk so hilarious." I sighed.

"It's not that I find it hilarious it's just that it reminds me of something happy, well, something happy and sad, and when I get two completely opposite emotions, I don't cry like most women I laugh." She giggled.

This woman was truly one of the most complicated human beings I had ever come across but I loved every little complicated piece of her to death.

"What does it remind you of?" I asked.

"When we were back in Chicago, on that snow covered bench. It reminds me of how we used to give each other little pep talks to try and ease the situation and comfort each other. It's such a happy memory for such a sad reason. I know, I'm weird for laughing but it's a me thing." She giggled.

I shook my head a little. "I'm never going to even come close to understanding the female brain."

"No male ever will." She laughed.

"We should go check on our children." I told her.

"Wait Edward." She disagreed.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You need to go ahead and tell the girls about work next week, so they can have time to comprehend what you're doing and have time to try and understand how they feel about the circumstance." She told me.

"I really have to tell them now?" I whined like a small child.

"Yes, if you want them to react well to the idea on the day of you going." She agreed.

I sighed, it was going to be a long morning, but at least my morning had started well. I guess that's all I could really ask.

**AN: So this was originally going to be another insanely long chapter but I decided instead to make the chapter focus on Bella and Edward. The next chapter will be when Edward tells the girls his plans to go back to work. Part of the reason that isn't in this chapter is because I'm not sure how I want them to react. So I'm sorry this chapter is shorter than most but I hope quality made up for quantity even though personally, I like the chapters that focus on the girls more. So 13 will be the chapter where we see how the girls feel about Daddy heading back to work. That'll be up sometime tomorrow, or I guess today seeing as its like early morning. I'll write after I get some sleep and post it as soon as possible. Until 13 my lovely readers.**


	13. Chapter 13: Son of a Son of a Sailor

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: Sorry this chapter took so long, I just haven't had as much free time to write lately. I was hoping to make this a really outrageously long chapter but, well, that didn't happen. Anyway, here's chapter 13. Also, the song I used is one my Dad used to sing me to go to bed every night. Anyway, everyone please review!**

**In Other News: **

If you are looking for a story to read and can't seem to find one check out xox-twilight-xoxB 's story, Memories of Me

Memories of Me

When Isabella Swan strolled into Forks, she knew exactly who the Cullen's were. In fact, she was in town just for them. Isabella is as good as they come, and she has a message for the vamps. "I haven't seen him since 1918 but he hasn't changed much, it seems. He's still the boy that captivated me, only now he's a little older with a lot more degrees." AU

Twilight - Rated: T - English - Romance/Supernatural - Chapters: 6 - Words: 23,644 - Reviews: 67 - Favs: 53 - Follows: 93 - Updated: Dec 25 - Published: Dec 4 - Bella, Edward

Link: s/10869807/1/Memories-Of-Me

Chapter 13: Son of a Son of a Sailor

The girls weren't too keen on the idea of me heading back to work, not at first. Emery had finally accepted the idea; she had been angrier than Leighton at first but now was a lot calmer about the idea. Leighton, well that was a different story. She had cried, no, cried doesn't even cover it, she had sobbed, begged me not to leave her, for days she had clung to my side, refusing to move away, and now, she ignored me completely, wouldn't speak to me or look at me or acknowledge my presence. Today is my first day back at work and also the first day the tutor I had found will start working with the girls. I hope having some schoolwork to do will keep them distracted and make them not worry about me.

It was actually nice to be back at work, to see patients, to schedule operations; it kept my mind off of the nightmare that had become my life. I never realized how difficult of a situation I was in until I came back to work. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, like I had been on the verge of drowning and now I was able to swim again. One thing I wasn't expecting so much was how much I would miss the girls. I knew I would miss them to some extent but I didn't expect myself to highly anticipate the minute I got to leave work and go be with my little girls. I almost felt the way Bella described the girls feeling, them being fearful for something bad happening to me, I was afraid, of something happening to my girls while I was away, probably because the last time I was away from the girls for a long period of time, I almost lost them both.

When I arrived home at noon, Emery ran and flung her arms around me. She was excited to see me, and I was excited to see her, happy, nearing healthy. I kissed the top of her head and smiled.

"I missed you Daddy." She admitted.

"I missed you too Pumpkin, how was your day?" I asked.

She shrugged. "It was okay, the tutor that came was really nice and he didn't make me learn anything boring. Grandma fixed chicken fingers for lunch and we got to have macaroni too. Colton and I watched Harry Potter but Leighton wouldn't watch with us, she just went to our room."

"Did you have a good day too?" I asked Colton as he walked in the living room.

"Yeah, Emery is the best person to watch Harry Potter with because she pays attention and waits until after the movie to talk." He smiled.

I laughed; another thing that had changed recently was how close Emery and Colton had become. They were best friends, almost inseparable. I think it is because they have so much in common, because they share the same interests and have been through a similar life altering trauma.

"Is Leighton still mad at me?" I asked Emery.

"She says she is but I think she's just scared." Emery shrugged.

"Why do you say that Pumpkin? Did she say something to you about it?" I asked.

"No, Bella says sometimes people react to fear differently and I'm afraid so maybe Leighton is too and she's just reacting to fear differently than I am." She shrugged.

"You're wise beyond your years my dear." I chuckled. "I'm going to go check on Leighton, you two go have some fun or something."

"Okay." Emery smiled.

I made my way upstairs and to the grandkids room. I knocked once and hear a very muffled. "Go away."

I pushed the door open and sighed as I saw Leighton lying on her bed, braiding her American Girl Doll's hair. "Princess, talk to me."

She looked at me and then looked away, out the window. She wouldn't utter a single word to me. I didn't know how long I was going to get the silent treatment but I knew I didn't like it. I sat on Leighton's bed and watched her for about ten minutes before I sighed and figured she probably wasn't going to cave anytime soon and just left her alone. I ran into Bella in the hall that offered a supportive smile.

"Is she still not speaking to you?" She asked.

"No, I don't know what I can do to make her speak to me again." I admitted.

"Give her time, she's angry which is something we expected with you going back to work, just give her awhile to be angry." She advised.

"I just feel so helpless, like it's back right after the accident when there was nothing I could do. I thought I was getting somewhere, I thought I was finally helping the girls and now this happens and I feel like there's nothing I can do to help her." I mumbled.

"I know, that's understandable but it's going to be alright Edward. She will get over it, I promise you that, she'll get over it and she'll forgive you and go back to being attached at the hip with you." She smiled.

"How long do you think it will take?" I asked.

"I don't know, maybe a few days, maybe longer, I think once she gets used to the idea of you working and once she sees that just because you leave and go to work doesn't mean you'll die she'll be better. Right now I don't think she really believes that when you leave the house for a long period of time that you'll actually come back but once she does, things will get better." She assured me.

"I hope you're right." I mumbled. "Is she still speaking to you?"

"Yes, we had a long talk while Emery and Colton were watching Harry Potter. You know I won't tell you specifics but she did tell me she doesn't want to be angry with you, she just doesn't know how not to be." She told me.

"I get it, I mean these emotions are confusing enough for adults but children, I can't even imagine being Leighton's age and having such extreme emotions, I guess it's only natural for her to be angry with someone and I guess that I gave her a reason for that someone to be me. I don't know how you do it Bella, how you help children cope with such complex emotions every day, it really is incredible." I told her.

"Everything's going to work out, you'll see." She told me.

Days passed, Leighton still wouldn't speak to me, wouldn't look at me, all I wanted was my little Princess back. Soon enough it was Friday, the day of Leighton's surgery and I found myself waking her very early in the morning.

"Come on Princess, we've got to go to the hospital." I whispered.

Leighton didn't respond at all to me, she opened her eyes and stared at the wall. I wasn't getting anywhere though, not anytime soon, so I just lifted her in my arms and carried her from the room, picking up a backpack with her favorite stuffed animals and a change of clothes in it as I did.

I got Leighton buckled up in my car and began the short drive to New Canaan Children's. I parked in the parking garage and carried Leighton the outpatient surgery floor. I wasn't used to being on this side of things, in the waiting room. It was strange, having a child that needed surgery instead of performing surgery on someone's child. Leighton sat beside me, in a chair that was entirely too large for her small body. Her good leg swung back and forth because her foot couldn't touch the ground, her bad was propped up on another chair to keep her knee straight. I filled out countless forms, took them back up to the desk and took my seat by Leighton again. I decided it was worth a shot, talking to her, trying to ease some of the fears I knew she had to have.

"Leighton, sweetheart, I know you're angry and scared and that you have all these really confusing emotions that a child should never have to feel. I understand that sweetheart and I know that you're really angry with Daddy but please, will you talk to me? I won't even tell anyone you did, no one has to know you finally talked to me, just please baby, talk to Daddy." I begged. She shook her head but started shaking a bit. Well, getting a reaction out of her was progress, that simple shake of her head was a start "Are you scared Princess?" I asked. She nodded her head and looked up with me, her tear-filled eyes melting my heart. "Do you want me to hold you?" I asked receiving another nod.

I gently lifted Leighton in my arms, letting the back of her head rest on my chest. I held her tight enough to try and make her feel secure but not tight enough to be uncomfortable. My baby girl was scared and this was all I could do to try and make it better.

"Leighton Cullen." A nurse called.

I could almost feel Leighton's heart pounding, or maybe it was my own, as we were called. I knew the first stop would be pre-op testing and then we'd head to a room where the pre-op medications would begin and eventually Leighton would be wheeled to the OR. I had convinced Maria to let me go all the way to the actual OR doors seeing as I was staff. I wouldn't be allowed in the OR but I would be allowed to stay with Leighton longer than most parents were allowed to stay with their children.

The nurse got Leighton's height and weight, the best she could at least seeing as Leighton had to stand one footed on the scale and I had to hold her up for her height. I held Leighton while the nurse took her vitals and then held her down while the nurse took some blood. After all the pre-op testing was done, the nurse showed us to a room for Leighton.

The room Leighton got was one themed Winnie the Pooh. There were several themes used on the surgical floor but the kids around Leighton's age were always put in the Winnie the Pooh themed rooms. The nurse smiled at my daughter as I lifted her on the bed and held her hand.

"What is your favorite color Leighton?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"Pink." Leighton whispered.

"Okay I'm going to go get you a super soft gown that your Daddy will help you change into and also another hospital bracelet." The nurse, Nicole, told her.

Leighton nodded and looked at me. "Do you want me to hold you again?" I asked. She nodded so I moved her to my arms and sat on the bed with her. I kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back a little. "Everything's going to be just fine baby."

The nurse returned with a pink hospital gown and a pink hospital bracelet. The kids' gowns were softer than the adult ones; they were a fleece like material and were more like pajamas than a gown because they came with a pair of matching shorts and the gown was more like a long t-shirt. Leighton wasn't much help with getting her dressed, she didn't want to let go of me as I maneuvered her into the new set of clothes. Once she was changed her arms clutched around my neck and her thumb slipped in her mouth.

We sat like this, in silence aside from the Disney movie playing on the TV, for a good thirty minutes and then there was a brief knock on the door and Jasper popped his head in. He looked at his niece for a minute before looking at me with a slightly questioning glance. I nodded telling him to come in.

"Look Princess, Uncle Jasper came to see you." I whispered.

Leighton lifted her head off me to see her uncle in his navy blue scrubs. "I had a surgery, I thought you might want this little guy to keep you company." Jasper smiled at my little one, holding out a stuffed Polar Bear.

Leighton stared at her uncle, blinking a little and he gave her a slightly concerned look as he came over and handed her the bear. "She's not in a very talkative mood." I told him.

"You know what Leighton, sometimes, when I get scared, I don't want to talk either." Jasper told her running his hand through her long hair. "Are you scared darling?"

Leighton nodded and stared at her uncle but didn't speak. Nicole walked back in the room and smiled at Leighton. "Alright Little Miss Leighton, one last ouchie and then no more needles." She told my little one.

Leighton sniffled a bit and clung to me. Jasper sighed and rubbed her back a little as the nurse took her un-casted arm, the arm that all the various bracelets were on. She was quick but Leighton started crying, really crying hard for the first time today. I figured it wasn't so much the pain from the IV but more of the fear of the whole day and the procedure.

"I've got to go darling, I'll see you later okay? I'll come see you before you go back to Grandma and Grandpa's." Jasper assured her.

She nodded and kept crying as she clutched to my shirt. It was just the two of us now and Leighton was trembling in my arms.

"Daddy." She cried.

"I know Princess, I know." I sighed as I held her.

"I don't want to die." She mumbled.

"You're not going to die Princess, I won't allow it." I assured her. "I love you so very much, I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."

"I'm sorry I was mean to you and wouldn't talk to you." She cried.

"It's okay Princess, I understand." I told her. "Just try and relax okay? Just breathe baby, just breathe."

"I can't." She sobbed.

I needed to calm Leighton down; she was going to make herself sick she was sobbing so hard. I did the only thing I could think of, I began singing the song I used to sing when I rocked her as a baby, Son of a Son of a Sailor, by Jimmy Buffett but in a soothing lullaby version instead of its usual version.

_As the son of a son of a sailor,  
>I went out on the sea for adventure,<br>Expanding their view of the captain and crew  
>Like a man just released from indenture.<em>

_As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man,  
>I have chalked up many a mile.<br>Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks,  
>And I've learned much from both of their styles.<em>

_Son of a son, son of a son, son of a son of a sailor.  
>Son of a gun; load the last ton<br>One step ahead of the jailer._

_Now away in the near future, southeast of disorder,  
>You can shake the hand of the mango man<br>As he greets you at the border._

_And the lady she hails from Trinidad,  
>Island of the spices.<br>Salt for your meat and cinnamon sweet,  
>And the rum is for all your good vices.<em>

_Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind that our  
>Forefathers harnessed before us.<br>Hear the bells ring as the tide rigging sings.  
>It's a son of a gun of a chorus.<em>

_Where it all ends I can't fathom, my friends.  
>If I knew, I might toss out my anchor.<br>So I'll cruise along always searchin' for songs,  
>Not a lawyer, a thief or a banker.<em>

_But a son of a son, son of a son, son of a son of a sailor.  
>Son of a gun, load the last ton<br>One step ahead of the jailer  
>I'm just a son of a son, son of a son, son of a son of a sailor<br>The sea's in my veins, my tradition remains.  
>I'm just glad I don't live in a trailer.<em>

By the time I finished Leighton was quiet, almost asleep on my chest and just a few seconds later, as I continued humming gently to my little girl, Nicole and a scrub nurse, Brittany, came to roll Leighton back to the OR. I stayed with my daughter, held her hand as long as I could before I was forced to release her shaking hand and go wait in the waiting room. Sometime during this, Mom showed up to wait with me, followed shortly by Dad, then Emmett and Alice, both had taken off work to be here. Rosalie came during lunch, brought us all some sandwiches, but had to head back to work. Soon after we finished eating, Maria came out, her face unreadable which made me nervous seeing as usually with surgeons, when it was good news, emotions showed on their faces, when it was bad news, they were unreadable. I did it, Jasper did it, every surgeon I knew did it.

"How is she?" I asked nervously.

"She's fine, I repaired her knee fully, she's going to be fine." Maria told me.

"But?" I asked.

She sighed. "There was a complication though."

"What happened?" I asked as my Mom took my hand and made me sit down beside her.

"She started bleeding, a lot, I had to give her three units of blood but she was fine after awhile. She's going to have to stay in the hospital for a few days though, her condition needs to be monitored, closely, and I want her to stay in the hospital for at least twenty four hours." She told me.

"What caused it?" I asked nervously.

"I'm not sure yet, I'm going to have a hematologist look her over for clotting disorders because I'm just not too terribly sure." She explained.

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"Of course, head to recovery, she should be waking up soon." She told me.

I left the waiting room and quickly made my way to the recovery room and found the bed containing my daughter. I sat in the chair behind her and took her tiny little hand in mine and waited for her to wakeup.


	14. Chapter 14:Can You Feel the Love Tonight

**One Family:**

**Summary: One night changes everything about Dr. Edward Cullen's life when he suddenly has to take full custody of his two little girls. Caring full time for little ones is different than part time. One night changes Dr. Bella Swan's perspective after nearly losing her young son to a fatal car accident. What brings Edward and Bella together, two complete strangers? Is it the same thing that threatens to tear them apart? **

**AN: Sorry this chapter took so long, I've been extremely busy and with school starting up again and musical rehearsals, and indoor soccer. Second semester senior year, graduation is sort of kicking my butt because I have "senioritis" bad and on top of all this I'm trying to decide which college I'm going to go to. I'm just very busy so I apologize in advance for not posting as frequently. I'm leaving for the senior trip on Thursday to Disney World so that's amazing! Anyway, here's chapter 14, sorry it sort of sucks. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story! Also, sorry this isn't as lengthy as past chapters, I just liked the place I chose to end it.**

Chapter 14: Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Leighton had finally been released from the hospital about a week ago and had started to recover. I don't think she was expecting so much pain to come after her surgery so she was not in the best of moods. Honestly, I don't think I was expecting Leighton to be in so much pain either. I knew that with knee surgeries came a lot of pain, I had been through the pain myself, but it was different with my child. I felt helpless again, like I couldn't do anything to help my little girl. I had continued going back to work, like Bella advised, and now I was working full days four days a week. Mom took care of the girls for me during the day, with Bella's help, and soon enough, once Leighton was a little ore self-dependent, I'd move back home with my girls.

Bella and I still hadn't discussed what would happen with her and Colton once I moved from my parents' home. I was sure that Mom would be grateful to continue having Bella and Colton stay with her but I knew Bella wouldn't want to feel like a burden. It was a complicated situation, one I wasn't quite ready to face. Another thing that had changed was that Emery was free of casts. She still had to take it easy, no contact sports, but she was able to run around and play some. She was healing, a lot quicker than I had expected, in all aspects, including her emotions. I thought Leighton would be the most resilient, the easiest to overcome things but I was wrong. Emery had been the first to overcome the horrible circumstances she had been put in.

Emery was in the acceptance stage of grief, the fifth and final stage. Bella told me she worried Leighton had taken a few steps back and was back in the first stage of grief, the denial and isolation. She said it was an odd mix though, she said while most of her feelings were denial and isolation there was also some anger, bargaining, and depression. Leighton wasn't in a single stage of grief like most children; it was like she was in all of the stages except for the acceptance stage. She was worried, she had seen children through these situations before and she was concerned about Leighton. That alone scared the hell out of me. Bella had told me if Leighton didn't start improving soon that she would want to seriously consider some anti-depressants. She wasn't quite there yet but the thought had crossed her mind several times. She thought that her mother's death and the stress from surgery was just becoming too much or Leighton to handle and so while she might be in one stage of grieving over the death of her mother, she was in a different stage of grieving due to her surgery. It was all very complicated and I was thankful Bella was here to help me because I knew I wouldn't be able to do it on my own.

Today, Emery had gone with Emmett, Rosalie, Logan, Lucas, and Colton to see the Red Bulls play in the city, Jasper had tagged along as well as little Oliver which meant that Alice had come to spend time with Mom and Bella, her new best friend. Bella and Alice were definitely something to see, Alice treated Bella like a Barbie doll, always wanting to dress her up and put make-up on her, something Bella wasn't too fond of. Leighton enjoyed it though, helping Alice play "Bella Barbie" so Bella endured it. Alice, Bella, Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle were the only ones aside from myself that could make Leighton smile and feel happy. Today, Carlisle and Esme had claimed Leighton and were going to head out and take her to see a play, asking Alice to go along, which left me alone with Bella. This was all part of Mom's plan, she thought I should have some time alone with Bella because she suspected that I was falling in love with her. She couldn't be more right.

When we were finally alone it was quiet. Neither of us really knew what to say as we sat on the couch of the living room. "I think Mom's catching on." I said breaking the silence.

She smiled. "Your mother is very observant."

"Tell me about it, I could never get away with doing anything wrong as a kid." I mumbled.

She giggled. "What could the goody two shoes doctor have done as a kid anyway?"

"You have no idea." I laughed. "The worst I ever did was when Emmett and I got caught smoking and drinking on the back porch at thirteen, well Emmett was fifteen, but we were still entirely too young to drink or smoke."

"I bet you got quite the tongue lashing." She giggled. "How'd you get the cigarettes and booze anyway?"

"That's the worst part, stole them from a gas station. I don't think I've ever seen either of my parents so angry in my entire life. That was the last time either of us ever got a whipping and believe me, even if we were teens it was just as bad if not worse as when we were younger." I sighed.

"So you were a bad boy hmm?" She asked.

"Not really, I was a jock; I usually stayed out of trouble. Emmett though, he had a wild adolescence, he claims trouble found him but I think he looked for it." I told her. "Alice was the best behaved of the three of us, such a suck-up. Were you always a goody two shoes?"

"Actually yes." She laughed. "I was a shy nerd, I liked reading, writing, I kept to myself quite a bit."

"So a nerd and a jock wind up falling for each other, a little ironic hmm?" I laughed.

"Cliché for sure." She smiled.

"Do you think it's been long enough that we don't have to keep this such a secret anymore?" I asked.

She looked at me, pierced her lips and pondered what I had asked. "I don't know." She admitted. "We weren't concerned about Leighton's reaction at first but now she's the one I'm worried about. I think Emery would initially be angry but would be okay with it after just a day or two to adjust. Colton, well, he's so observant that I feel like we would just be confirming his suspicions, but Leighton, I feel like this would just be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

"So we just keep pretending to be friends and friends only?" I asked.

"I don't like it either but we have to think about what is best for the children in this relationship, not what is best for the two of us." She told me.

"How long do you think it will be until Leighton heals?" I asked.

"We've been over this Edward." She sighed.

"I know but I keep hoping I'll ask you and you'll say something different." I admitted.

"My answer is the same, it's going to take time, a very long time, it could take years before she's completely better or it could take weeks, I just don't have a specific time frame for you." She frowned. "I wish I had better news, I do, but she's just not progressing quickly. I think once her knee is better, once she is no longer in any casts and is rehabbed that she will heal a lot quicker."

"Have you thought anymore about anti-depressants?" I asked.

"With all the other medications she's currently on I think they would do more harm than good." She told me. I sighed and stared at her for a minute. She gave me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry Edward, I know this hasn't been easy, I know that this will never be easy, but I don't want to give you false hope."

"I know." I admitted. "Let's change the topic shall we? We rarely get to spend time alone, we shouldn't spend it focused on the children."

She giggled. "So what should we focus on then?"

"Well, I need a shower, care to join me?" I smirked.

"I'd be honored." She winked.

After Bella and I had some very steamy, hot shower sex, we laid on the bed beside each other in new clothes. Bella's head rested on my chest while I ran my hands through her hair, her beautiful hair. When I held Bella in my arms I felt almost complete, like that empty place in my heart was filled. It was an unusual feeling, one I wasn't used to and I never wanted to lose that feeling again.

"Bella." I mumbled.

"Hmm?" She answered.

"I don't ever want to lose this." I admitted.

"Neither do I." She agreed.

"I love you Isabella Marie Swan." I smiled.

"And I love you Edward Masen Cullen." She told me before pecking my lips.


End file.
